Simple Upgrades, Complex Helpers
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Make your mouse mighty, tweak Windows massively, and crush cosmic creepy-crawlies.
Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler Review
Overclockers Club :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
AMD Phenom X3 Processors
Icrontic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
What do you do to stir up the competition in a market saturated in dual-cores? How about offer three cores for the price of two. This is exactly what AMD hopes to accomplish with their aggressively priced, tri-core Phenom X3.
SanDisk Sansa Fuze Flash-Based MP3 Player
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
A low price, a deep feature list, and an ultracompact design make the Sansa Fuze a very worthy Nano competitor.
600 Bucks: So Much Money, So Little Time
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
We ask PC World staffers how they might spend their $600 economic stimulus payment.
Working Offline With Google Docs, Part 2
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Google Docs’ new offline feature is a welcome addition to the free productivity suite, but the apps lag behind Microsoft software in features.
Casual Friday: 17 Sweet Smart-Phone Tweaks and Games
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Hack your phone, play some great games on the go, and, oh yeah, try a couple useful apps as well.
Icrontic’s EPIC Duct Tape Case
Icrontic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Duct tape is probably one of the most geeky materials known to man. We have a history of working with duct tape that includes some fairly impressive constructs, as well as several contest victories for creating purpose-built structures in a short timeframe. In February of 2007, we decided to put our skills working with DuctTape into a long-term, practical project. We wanted to build something that could really be useful. We decided on a computer case.
Top 5 Inkjet Printers
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
These are the top Inkjet Printers today, but ratings and rankings can change quickly due to pricing and technology changes, so check back frequently for the latest info.
ASUS Shows Faith in Splashtop
Techgage :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
DeviceVM’s Splashtop embedded Linux environment looks to be sticking around a while, thanks to ASUS’ decision to make the technology available on all of their upcoming motherboards. To find out what’s new, we are taking a look at the latest version, as seen on the upcoming P5Q Deluxe.
Boxwave Screen Puff and Replacement Stylus for ATT Tilt / TyTn II
Dragonsteel Mods :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Boxwave (http://www.boxwave.com) . So you've got a new phone and of course since it's new you really want to take care of it, one of the most annoying things with touchscreens is the fingerprints that get on them from touching it. With a touchscreen you have to be careful not to scratch it so you really can't just use anything to clean it, you need something soft and non-abrasive, that's where Boxwave comes in with their Screen Puff. The Screen Puff resembles a pillow and has a small strap on it to attach to your phone so it's always ready when you need it. The Stylus that comes with your ATT Tilt / TyTn II is adequate for what it needs to do, but if you're like me you're bound to lose it, so you'll need a replacement, but why just get any plain replacement stylus, why not get something better? Most people think that a stylus is just a stylus, but the one I got from Boxwave for review is nice. I've shown it to people that have phones with styli and they were truly impressed with it. It looks similar to other styli out there, but it's much heavier, in fact I could guess that it weighs twice as much as the stock stylus that comes with the phone. Being heavier makes it much easier to use and more comfortable in your hand as well, if you need a replacement stylus then this is what I can recommend you get…
Backup Platinum Review: Nice and Easy
PC Mechanic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Any computer user worth their salt will stress the importance of data backup. Too many people either don’t think about it or put it off into the “someday” category, leaving open the possibility that you’ll get burned. Anybody, though, who has been caught with a hosed system and inadequate backups realizes the cold, hard importance […]
Toucan Global Snap Personal Internet Communicator
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Innovative intercom device is limited by its cord; your contacts need to have Snaps, too.
Noctua NH-U9B Heatsink Review
Icrontic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Only three months after the release of the award winning NH-U12P, Noctua is back with a more compact 92mm version, the NH-U9B. Mike puts the NH-U9B through its paces in the Icrontic lab.
Transcend 4gb microSDHC class 6 Flash card
Dragonsteel Mods :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Transcend (http://www.transcendusa.com/) microSDHC Class 6 Flash Card, it's your standard type microSD card and includes the adapter for regular SD cards as well. I put it up against two other brands of microSD cards I've got on hand, let's see how well it performs…
5 Groovy Sites for Free Music Downloads
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Want to fill up your MP3 player for free without facing the wrong end of an RIAA lawsuit? These five sites offer DRM-free downloads from exciting artists.
CoolIT Freezone Elite
Bit-Tech Modding :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Most of us love the looks and performance of watercooling – but the utter mess and difficulty drives many away. Canada-based CoolIT seems to think it has a solution that beats the pre-boxed watercooling sets hands down while remaining simple. Does it succeed?
Noctua NH-C12P Heatsink Review
Icrontic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Noctua is back with a down-draft 120mm heatsink dubbed the NH-C12P. Mike puts it through its paces in the Icrontic lab.
Slipstreaming Windows XP
Icrontic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Through the power of a technique known as “slipstreaming” you can update the contents of your Windows XP CD to include applications, drivers and updates. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to add service pack 3, help XP recognize your SATA hard drive during install, and add your favorite apps to a fresh install.
Foxconn GeForce 9800GTX Review
Overclockers Club :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
How-To: Make a Super-Fast Pie Chart
PC Mechanic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
There are times when you need to make a super-quick pie chart (such as to insert in a blog post or quick print-out) but find that doing it in Excel or OpenOffice takes a bit more effort than you’d like. Is there a faster way for quick’n’dirty pie charts? Yes. You can use Create a […]
The Ultimate Startup Process Monitor
PC Mechanic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
As part of normal Windows system maintenance, one thing you should do is check your programs set to automatically start to make sure everything running is legit. Typically, most people just use the “msconfig” utility to accomplish this, but a much more comprehensive utility is Sysinternal’s AutoRuns tool. Rather than re-inventing an explanation, AutoRuns has a […]
An open letter to mobile game manufacturers
Icrontic :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
You could probably sell more games…. but it sure doesn’t seem like you want to.
PC Tools ThreatFire 3.5 Antivirus Software
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Solid free protection supplements your existing antivirus.
Gateway P-172X FX Desktop Replacement Laptop
PC World :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
Power-packed desktop replacement laptop delivers good game performance but bungles sound.
IBM announces PowerXCell 8i, QS22 blade server
Beyond3d Processor News :: Saturday, May 17, 2008
IBM today made formal the announcement of an HPC-targeted variant of the Cell B.E. processor, given the name PowerXCell 8i. Featuring re-engineered SPEs with enhanced dual-precision performance and improved memory…
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Motherboard
CDR Info :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
Gigabyte introduces an energy efficient motherboard based at Intel’s P35 chipset with good performance and overclocking abilities even when using an Intel Quad core processor.
Gates Talks Up Windows 7
PC Mech :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
“With the frustrations caused by Windows Vista, many are looking ahead at what Windows 7 will bring. And according to Bill Gates, it may just be what the doctor ordered.”
Ubuntu Hardware Compatibility List. Know It, Love It
PC Mech :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
“One of the most outright frustrating experiences using a Linux distribution is having hardware that absolutely, positively will not work with it for whatever reason. But what if you’re building a box? Is there any way to find out what hardware will work best?”
ASRock Penryn1600SLIX3-Wifi Motherboard Review
Hardware Canucks :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
Feature-wise this board is a clear winner. ASRock provides its customers with dual 16x SLI slots and a third 8x slot, 7.1 HD audio, WiFi capabilities, overclocking and monitoring software, and many other perks. All the features we tested in this review worked as promised and setup was quite straightforward. As was seen in the tests, the improvements when running SLI and an overclocked system were rather dramatic and really did well to show what we find is a huge selling point for this board. Although the board didn’t clock quite to the point of some others on the market, dual 16x SLI makes up for that quickly in 3D and gaming applications.
Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External Hard Drive Review 
Think Computers :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
“Terabyte hard drives are becoming more popular with the need for more hard drive space. If you’re looking to expand your hard drive capacity I think the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus 1TB External Hard Drive would be great for you. This drive includes USB and Dual FireWire interfaces with available capacities of 250GB, 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB. The drive is jam packed with plenty of software to suffice the most avid external storage fanatics, while being easy to use for the everyday individual. Read on further to see what all this OneTouch drive has to offer.”
Apevia X-Telstar Red/Black Case Review
OCC :: Thursday, May 15, 2008
“During testing, I noticed that my power LED was not working. It was not the motherboard pins, I tested the motherboard with a spare LED, which worked. I took apart the front panel to check to see if the power LED was hooked up correctly and found that the top Apevia circle logo also had an LED, which is hooked up to the power LED line (in parallel). Apparently, that logo was also supposed to be lit. Interesting that both LEDs would not work.”
Buying a New Computer Today: Force Fed Technology That The Average Consumer Doesn’t Need Editorial
Tweaknews :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“To help me convince you that this is also true for the computer hardware industry, tell me if you have heard of anyone saying, “Man I just bought this computer 6 months ago and it is now obsolete!”. But who dictates that a computer is obsolete? Just because Rev.B of your motherboard came out, or the latest processor is 200Mhz faster than yours doesn’t mean your computer is obsolete. If it accomplishes the tasks you need, it is only obsolete when it won’t do a specific task for you, and nothing less. The computer industry will try to convince you that yours is obsolete by releasing a new product every six months in order to keep their sales figures high and put pressure on the layman to replce their computer.”
Sunbeamtech Quarterback Case
Modders Inc. :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Sunbeamtechs budget case, the Quarterback, is a standard ATX case with some rather interesting features. It has got a unique cooling option called the Core Fan Design that helps keep temperatures down. The case is also tool less and has plenty of room inside for today’s larger video cards.
Corsair HX1000W Power Supply Review
Hardware Canucks :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Fans have been frothing at the mouth for it, reviewers have been begging for it to arrive on their doorsteps and enthusiasts have been waiting for that fateful day when it becomes available to buy. We are talking about the crowning achievement of Corsair’s seemingly never-ending quest to produce a 1000W power supply: the HX1000W. Indeed, forums all over the internet have been abuzz with excitement ever since that fateful day more than half a year ago when the first tantalizing pictures of this behemoth showed up on a few websites. Well, the wait is over; the mothership has landed and the Corsair HX1000W should be available for purchase from you friendly neighborhood retailer as you read this.
SilverStone TS01B 2.5 sata Enclosure with RFID Review
Xtreme Computing :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“For this review I will be looking at a new product from the highly respected pc hardware manufacturer SilverStone. The product I will be looking at is a laptop hard drive enclosure, the SilverStone TS01B, but this is an enclosure with a difference it utilises RFID security.”
OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-10666 2 GB Memory Kit Review
OCIA :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“With the semi-recent arrival of DDR3 memory, OCZ has had the chance to expand on a whole new line of products. Already, they have the full series available on their website: Reaper, ReaperX, Platinum, Gold, Titanium… the list goes on. Today, we have for review the 2x 1GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-10666 memory kit, rated at 1333MHz.”
ASUS M3N-HT Deluxe Motherboard Review
Hardware Logic :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Making sure every possible niche is covered, Asus provides AMD users a high end, SLI capable motherboard with several unique features. The Asus M3N-HT Deluxe dishes out goodies like the brand new 780a chipset, 3-way SLI capability, Hybrid SLI, ESA, HyperTransport 3.0, PCIe 2.0 and the sexy Cool Mempipe. Is this the motherboard you’ve been waiting for? HardwareLogic straps the M3N-HT onto the test bench and drops the knowledge on you, raw and uncut.
Mushkin Ascent XP3 16000 2 x 1 GB Review
OCC :: Wednesday, May 14, 2008
“Having to test modules rated for 1000 MHz (2000 MHz effective) presents some unique challenges. First of all, you need a board that can push 1000 MHz+ on the northbridge. Second, you need a chip that can run speeds of 500+ MHz to run 1:1 when testing. Well, we have the next best thing. Since my poor Q9450 just won’t let me play in the 500 MHZ range, I had to look at the alternatives. The modules are designed to run on an nVidia 790i SLI chipset based motherboard, so thats what I did. Because of FSB holes, or a poor divider, I was not able to gain any speed over 2000 MHz at the rated latencies of 9-9-9-24. So instead of going higher, I decided to try and see how tight I could run the latencies. 2000 MHz at the stock volts of 1.9 to 2.0 volts and 9-9-9-24 was a cake walk. Heck, it should be. Now it got a little interesting. First up was 9-9-8-24, good so far. Then down to 9-8-8, then 8-8-8 – I thought this looked promising. After a few hours of test and repeat, latencies of 8-8-8 were a reality at 2000 MHz. Hmmm, let me push my luck at 8-7-7-24. Surprisingly, this fell after another session of test and repeat benchmarking. “Can there be more?” I asked. Well, yes there was. CAS 7 was a no go at 2000 MHz, but 8-7-6-24 was good. However, it would lock up randomly in a few tests. With the voltage adjustments I had been successful with, they still would not allow it to happen. So, I figured I’d start low-balling the voltage to the DIMMs, and ended up at 1.82 volts for my game and benchmark stability.”
