AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition CPU Review
Virtual Hideout :: Thursday, January 24, 2008
“Now why would AMD release an AMD Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition Processor? Try affordability and performance on for size. At a reasonable $115.00 for 2.6GHz of power running through two cores, this processor should be very capable of providing more than enough power for today’s most graphic intensive games. Of course as with any of the newest processors, it should be teamed up with a good graphics card like the NVidia 8800 or ATI’s newest series. This more affordable processor is basically AMD’s way of thanking all of the people who have chosen and continue to choose AMD processors.”
CES 2008 – Microsoft
Futurelooks :: Thursday, January 24, 2008
In terms of raw square footage, the Microsoft booth was perhaps only rivaled by Intel, which just happened to be across the way in the Central Hall. Nah, the Microsoft booth was definitely bigger and that’s because each segment of their business got about the same amount of space as some smaller vendors might have for their entire lineup. Was this Bill’s idea of a digital decade? Perhaps. And the Redmond, Washington-based company had a lot to show off, even if it wasn’t all entirely new.
mnpctech Custom Painting Service & Recent Modding
PC Apex :: Thursday, January 24, 2008
“My current painter, Lin Anderson isn’t outfitted to handle color finishes, clearcoating or any large volume of work. This is why we never focused on offering custom paint outside of large customer projects. After a few weeks of humping the paint community forums, including craigslist, making phones calls, I found Brad Galvin. It turns out I drive by his house everyday. Brad is 34 and hes been painting professionally for 14 years. He does everything in house, including custom color finishes, clearcoating, candy pearls, airbrushing, pinstriping!”
GlacialTech Igloo 5750 Silent CPU Cooler Review
RB Mods :: Thursday, January 24, 2008
Upgrading from a stock CPU cooler is one of the easiest and best modifications you can make to your computer, and choosing the right one can make a big difference. GlacialTech, makers of a wide variety of thermal management solutions, sent us one of their latest cooler products, the GlacialTech Igloo 5750 Silent CPU Cooler. This cooler actually has one feature not seen on many coolers: dual cooling fans. Is two better than one? We are here to put that theory to the test in this review.
Intel Core 2 Performance Comparison Guide 
Tech ARP :: Thursday, January 24, 2008
“In this article, we will be comparing the performance of several Intel Core 2 processors in five benchmarks – three game-based benchmarks and two application benchmarks. We hope to add on more and more results as we get hold of additional Core 2 processors over time. Let’s take a look at the Core 2 processors we have rounded up for this comparison.”
Thermaltake Max 4 Active Cooling eSATA and USB 3.5″ SATA HDD Enclosure Review
Dragonsteel Mods :: Thursday, January 24, 2008
“Thermaltake has sent me their Max 4 hard drive enclosure that features active cooling in the form of a silent 80mm fan that is only 15mm thick, so it really only adds about 15mm to the overall thickness of the enclosure and keeps your hard drive cool. The Max 4 also features dual interfaces in the form of USB and eSATA allowing you to utilize the higher transfer rates of an eSATA connection if there’s one available. So continue on to check out this enclosure… ”
Make Ice Cream Using Liquid Nitrogen
Techware Labs :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
“Looking for some truly hardcore and high tech food. We have some insta ice cream we overclocked into high gear using LN2. Wanna see the chilli results? Check out our entire cool video. ”
Thermaltake Toughpower Q-Fan W0163RU 650Watt Modular Power Supply Review 
Tweaknews :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
“With four independent 12V rails providing stable power, it is a fine choice for an overclocked rig. The 140mm Qfan does it job as well with its nearly silent operation even when under heavy load. In fact, this is the quietest PSU I’ve worked with that wasn’t fanless.”
CES 2008: Cooler Master
Think Computers :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
“Cooler Master makes some the most solid, attractive cases on the market. It also makes some top quality power supplies and cooling products, too. The company’s focus on green power supplies and a new hardware monitoring architecture garnered it a lot of attention, and we at ThinkComputers believe that Cooler Master is doing a lot of cool and good things. Read on for coverage.”
Editorial: MacWorld 2008 Roundup
TechReviewSource :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
“Apple’s big MacWorld 2008 Keynote by Steve Jobs made some product unveilings this week, some surprising and some not. TechReviewSource.com’s editor-in-chief takes a look at all the product announcements made and lets you know all the important details of what’s to come of them.”
2008 CES Coverage: Cooler Master, CSX, Zalman
OCIA :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
“Cooler Master also had their line of custom computer case art at their booth, CSX. Cooler Master has teamed up with Smooth Creations to provide these hand-painted, limited edition chassis in many unique designs. I was totally blown away by the quality and detail of these paint jobs. The CSX cases have, by far, the best paint job that I have ever seen on a computer case. Expect to drop off $1200 – $1500 for a custom-designed CSX chassis.”
Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Case Review 
3d Xtreme :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
“Cooler Master proves with the Cosmos that they can still build killer Case complete with cutting edge features and a sleek look!”
Corsair TX650W PSU
Driver Heaven :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Attempts to diversify are common among PC component manufacturers, but these are not always marked by success. One of the most successful diversification attempts was made by Corsair nearly a year ago. Corsair, being a highly reputable RAM manufacturer at the time, released a small range of high class PSUs aimed towards enthusiasts, with the “HX series” moniker. We reviewed the HX620W unit back then which we found an excellent choice for enthusiasts and a year later the HX620W is still one of the best choices for performance systems. Because of the great success of the HX series, Corsair launched the VX series back in August and the TX series shortly after that. The VX series units are aimed towards the value-conscious PC users, however our review of one of the first VX450W units was a surprise because of its remarkable performance.
OCZ PC2-8500/DDR2-1066 nVidia SLI-Ready Edition 2GB Kit Memory Review
OC Inside :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
OCZ offers optimized memory modules for different application ranges for years. It does not only concern the memory module overclocking with sophisticated RAM heatsinks, but also an optimal adjustment of the RAM to the respective system. For example the reviewed OCZ PC2-8500 nVidia SLI-Ready Edition 2GB kit is optimized for current nVidia motherboards. This SLI ready PC2-8500 memory was tested on a motherboard with ULi M1697 chipset and also on a motherboard with nVidia nForce 590 SLI chipset (SLI-Ready support). Of course the memory was overclocked up to the limit.
Danger Den MC-TDX Waterblock
techPowerUp :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Danger Den redesigned the TDX to improve its performance on multiple-core CPUs. This new version, dubbed the MC-TDX, features 240 pins above the CPU core area to help dissipate heat. The rest of the design is classic TDX, with its offset outlet barb, acrylic top and simple mounting hardware.
Mapower MAP-OT21 2.5 Inch eSATA / USB Enclosure Review
Big Bruin :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The Mapower MAP-OT21 2.5 Inch eSATA / USB Enclosure features a one touch backup button that works through software found on the included CD. The “PCClone EX Lite” software doesn’t do anything fancy like some other backup software I have used, but the simplicity is a strong point. The whole thing occupies less than 11MB on disk, and it allows you to easily setup your profile of what you would like backed up.
Plextor PX-PH160US
Bjorn 3d :: Wednesday, January 23, 2008
While USB-flash drives have both dropped in price and increased in size they still are far too small if you need to carry around anything larger than some images or documents. The regular external hard drives of course are an alternative but while they do have the storage space they also are big, heavy and need extra power thus making them less useful for the mobile computer user.
A better alternative is the new external hard drives that are based on the smaller 2.5” notebook drives. These drives not only are small but they also can be powered over the USB-port (albeit by using two USB-ports). As you finally can get hold of 320 GB 2.5” drives it means that the smaller drives now have become cheaper and thus perfect for the new wave of external hard drives.
Today I am reviewing one of these new 2.5” external hard drives from a company mainly known for their CD and DVD-burners: Plextor. The Plextor PX-PH160US comes with 160 GB of storage and in addition to the expected USB 2.0 connection it also has a eSATA connection for even better performance.
Noctua NF-P12 Fan
CDR Info :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Noctua has a good reputation for presenting high performance products. The nine-blade design of NF-P12 seems to offer increased performance compared with the simpler NF-S12 model. Overall a good product that will enhance your cooling performance.
Foxconn Mars Mainboard
Technic 3d :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Foxconn P35 Quantum Force Mars Mainboard arrived Technic3D. The Mainboard with Overclocking functions on the Gladiator Bios for all Intel Socket 775 CPUs. See you in the the following Review over 500 MHz FSB on Windows Vista.”
Corsair TX750 PSU review
Icrontic :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“Upon cracking open the TX750 and kissing the warranty goodbye, it was immediately evident that it is indeed a CWT built power supply. It is very similar in construction to the CWT built Corsair VX550. The thick black heatsink fins and green tape wrapped components are a telltale sign. Interestingly, the TX750 board could have easily fit in a standard size PSU casing had it not been for the oversize 140mm fan.”
Hybrid Aluminum Case Review
Techware Labs :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“LANCOOL (Lian Li) has sent us an aluminum/steel hybrid case to test out. With a black annodized aluminum exterior and sporting multiple interior design features that we find lacking in many cases the K7 may be an excellent case from several viewpoints. We explore the K7 in our review and take you from unpacking to installation and give you our conclusion on this “metal boned” new enclosure for your system.”
Foxconn X38A Motherboard Review
Legit Reviews :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“The Foxconn X38A motherboard offers everything you could want out of an Intel X38 Express chipset based board. After you get past all the standard X38 features such as dual Lan, HD audio, PCIe-Gen 2.0, the board goes the extra mile of adding in dual ram compatibility. This lets you take advantage of great DDR2 prices right now, with the added piece of mind of future upgradeability when DDR3 prices stabilize. When you factor in that this comes at no apparent cost to performance, you can’t really ask for more…”
DDR2-800 vs. DDR3-1333. Does DDR3-1333 Make Sense
Digit Life :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“We’re going to compare performance of two processors in combination with different memory modules: standard DDR2-800 and higher-clocked DDR3-1333. The Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor (1333 MHz FSB) will be tested with one and the same motherboard that supports both memory types (Foxconn X38A). And the Core 2 Extreme QX9770 processor (1600 MHz FSB) will be tried with two motherboards, different in supported memory types.”
Mid-End Heatpipe Cooler Shootout
Digit Life :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“Today we’ll focus on 21 Mid-End coolers and their tests. It won’t be a traditional shootout-we don’t want to wear our readers out and distract them from their preholiday cares. So we’ll try to keep away from purely technical details, paying more attention to practice. We hope that our shootout will help you choose the right cooler in the new year.”
CES 2008 – D-Link, Genius and UBICOM
Futurelooks :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Consumer Electronics Show has sections for all sorts of technology. If you head to one part of the Las Vegas Convention Center, you’ll get bombarded by very loud car stereos. Walk over to another spot, and you get a huge variety of cell phones. That said, you could say that everything on display has something to do with a digital lifestyle and in case you didn’t notice, that’s what we’re about at FutureLooks. Here are a couple of companies that we strolled across at CES this year that are dedicated to promoting the digital lifestyle.
ASUS P5K3 Deluxe WiFi-AP Intel P35 Motherboard
Benchmark Reviews :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Market forecasts predict DDR3 memory poised to replace its predecessor DDR2 as the main volume product for 2008. Already aware of this, memory chip manufacturers like Micron, Samsung, Hynix, and Qimonda have begun tooling up for mass production. As a result we should finally start to see the dizzying prices of DDR3 come down – being affordable will no doubt help to spur adoption in the market. With price drops looming, many will be looking for quality motherboards suitable for high-speed DDR3. With this in mind Benchmark Reviews thought it would be of interest to examine one of the more mature DDR3 based motherboard offerings on the market today; the ASUS P5K3 Deluxe Wi-Fi-AP Motherboard based on the Intel P35 chipset.
Tagan ICY BOX IB-3220
GideonTech :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“Following in the ICY BOX line, Tagan has come out with another external enclosure in the same family of products. The original ICY BOX I looked at earlier this year was a nice product that supported a single 2.5″ SATA drive. The ICY BOX IB-3220 I have today takes a single USB cable and attaches two 3.5″ SATA drives to your computer via the USB port. Double the pleasure, double the fun.”
Tagan BZ1100 1100W Power Supply Review
Extreme Outervision :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“Tagan BZ PSU blows the competition away. BZ PSU are made with best components and loaded with various safety implements to protect your expensive components. Tagan PSU is made to last and outperform. Look no further for the best power. The PipeRock modular cable management with colorful housing to avoid wrong connection.”
Foxconn Blackops Motherboard Prototype
Hardware Secrets :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
“During CES 2008 Foxconn displayed the prototypes of two motherboards targeted to overclockers: F1, which we have already posted here, and Blackops. Blackops is based on the forthcoming Intel X48 chipset, have three PCI Express x16 slots, a myriad of overclocking options and a cooler that refrigerates the chipset and the transistors from the voltage regulator circuit that can operate as a simple passive cooler, as a water cooler or adapted to accept dry ice or liquid nitrogen. Sounds impressive? Read on.”
Motherboard Roundup Jan 08 (Asus Maximus Extreme, Asus Maximus Formula)
Driver Heaven :: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
For anyone buying a socket 775 motherboard the choice is now quite bewildering. For a while the number one choice was the 975X chipset but more recently the G33, P35, X38 and X48 have all been released with each targeting a specific market segment. Today we will be looking at the mainstream and enthusiast models to identify which boards offer the best value, performance and features.
Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound
techPowerUp :: Monday, January 21, 2008
Noctua recently released their new NT-H1 thermal compound. This new thermal interface material is designed to give maximum performance while being simple to use. Best of all, it is ready to use immediately and does not require a “burn-in” time like the other manufacturer’s products. With a long storage life, long-term stability on the CPU, being non-conductive and being suitable for compressor cooling, this thermal compound seems to have it all.
CES 2008: In Win
Think Computers :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“In Win is a company that is not that well know, but very creative. Back in April they sent us their Alpha 360 case and it was one of the best cases we reviewed last year. Well at CES they showed us a few of their new cases, a new concept case, and a very interesting hard drive enclosure. Read on to see how In Win is changing how people think about PC cases.”
2008 CES Coverage: The Parties
OCIA :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“Besides being able to check out all of the latest in tech gear, CES is a great place to network, and what better setting to do that than a party? This year, there were over 50 parties going on during CES. It is impossible to attend them all, because many take place at the same time…”
CES 2008: Sony
Think Computers :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“Sony always makes an impact at CES because of its large booth and flashy products. Sony introduced some new things, but a lot of them are outside of what ThinkComputers covers. However, there are a few things that TC simply must mention. Read on for the coverage…”
OCZ ReaperX PC2-6400 4Gb DDR2 Kit
Overclock 3d :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“Just when we thought that all the DDR2 reviews had dried up, OCZ comes and surprises us with their latest “ReaperX” 4GB kit.”
CES 2008: Sands Expo
Think Computers :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“The Sands Expo and Convention Center is located behind the Venetian and hosts a Mini CES. While the Sands Expo is officially part of CES the cost is far less than being on the LLVC show floor. For this reason we see a lot of smaller and start-up companies at the Sands Expo. And sometimes we see the most innovative and interesting products here. Read on to see the companies we talked to at the Sands Expo and what they showed us.”
OCZ ReaperX HPC PC2-6400 4 GB Memory Kit Review
OCIA :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“And since there are still uses for it, the memory guys are still designing and building new DDR2 memory modules, treating us to lower latencies and higher frequencies than previously available…at ridiculously low prices.”
2008 CES Coverage: Thermaltake
OCIA :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“Today, Thermaltake offers nearly every accessory you can imagine: PC cases, air and water cooling solutions, power supplies, external hard drive storage, etc. We stopped by Thermaltake’s booth in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center to see what they have in store for the coming year.”
Interview with Antec Senior VP Scott Richards
Nordic Hardware :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“Lastly, as a company that has always strived to make the best quality possible for the money invested, it does drive us at Antec a bit crazy when we see consumers run their power supply right on the line of available power. The excess heat and having components running constantly on the ragged edge can inhibit overall performance and substantially shorten the life span of the PSU.”
Benchmarking the AMD Spider Platform
i4u :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“Today we are looking at a Spider platform computer system from AMD. This particular machine is running a Phenom 2.4GHz processor in an Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe mainboard with a single ATI HD 3850 graphics card. I used the computer in my daily activities on average ten hours a day for nearly a month. I found that in normal situations like editing large photos, surfing the web and rendering video the AMD spider platform is every bit as speedy as my Intel based test machine with much higher specifications.”
Sigma Luna Type-W Case Review
Hardware Logic :: Monday, January 21, 2008
“What is it enthusiasts look for in their cases? Style and looks, or functionality at an affordable price point? Sigma attempts both with it’s Luna lineup of aluminum mid-towers, aiming to win over the crowd with a fusion of stunning appearance and sleek yet practical design. All at a decent price point to boot. Is the Luna ready for prime time, or is it back to the drawing board? HardwareLogic has the intel on where the Luna stands.”
Hiper HPU-5K880 and HPU-5B680 Type R Mk II PSU’s
Benchmark Reviews :: Monday, January 21, 2008
Fresh from our review of the HPU-4M880/HPU-4M630 Type M Series,Hiper returns with an all new concept for power supply units. By combining the passive cooling of an open-grill chassis design with a set of integrated High-Speed USB ports, Hiper introduces their Type R Mk-II power supplies in 680W and 880W versions. Benchmark Reviews reveals the innovative HPU-5K880 & HPU-5B680 PSU’s with our set of power regulation tests.
