April 2007

“As performance champions go, the 965X has had more success in the overclocking and price to performance area for many makers. Some 975X motherboards like the AW9D-MAX, have helped in regaining and setting some very good overclocking records among the enthusiasts the past few months. Half of the credit goes to ABIT's ability to release better and better BIOS revisions while the other half goes to the electronics quality. At some point though, a BIOS begins to out pace the motherboard, so it becomes necessary to update revision or chipset based motherboard. I'd like to thank ABIT for sending us one of their newest motherboards that comes prepared for speed and ready to show off in any windowed computer enclosure. So, what does their IN9 32X-MAX 680i SLI Motherboard have to offer besides good looks and frame rates? You'll just have to read on.”

In the world of computer gaming, the gaming mouse is becoming more and more specialized and customizable to give you an edge against your components. Cyber Snipa, makers of a wide range of gaming accessories, has released a new mouse, the SWAT Laser Gaming Mouse, which has some unique features that claim to enhance your gaming prowess. Will their claims prove to be true? We are going to take a look at this mouse and see how it handles in gaming and everyday usage.

“There are a boat load of mice on the market, so which should you choose? Most don't want to break the bank on a mouse, but don't want the cheapest one either. Budget to spend around $40 to $60 on a quality mouse, otherwise you are probably buying garbage. The Razer Diamondback Gaming Mouse is an affordable mouse with lots of features, so it's strongly recommended. With a comfortable design, 7 buttons, teflon feet, long tangle-free cord and great looks, it's got serious bang for the buck. Also, the software that's included allows the mouse to be setup the way you prefer. My only complaint is the bright LED which is a little irritating.”

"The GeForce 8500GT is NVIDIA's value-priced contender in the GeForce 8 series. The 8500GT has a 450MHz core clock and 400MHz memory clock, but how is this $100 creation able to compete against other graphics cards from ATI and NVIDIA? We have our hands on the passively-cooled Gigabyte GeForce 8500GT 256MB graphics card and have run our usual Linux graphics tests along with some of our first overclocking attempts with this new solution. Without further ado, we present the world's first Linux benchmarks of the NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT."

The 188 case is very top notch. It is very well built and has solid construction with no creaks or rattles. The minimalistic design gives the case a very attractive aura, and it's cooling performance is excellent. The theme of being simple has been shown throughout this review, with screws being needed everywhere. This does not exactly mean it is going to be harder to install your system, tool-less designs can be sometimes flimsy and can even bring up compatibility problems. This is the first case in a while that has not been provided with thumbscrews (which appears to be a must in almost all cases), but that doesn't put this case off one bit.

"Moneaul was very gracious in sending us what appears to be the most impressive looking HTPC enclosure currently available. The Moncaso 932P Platinum Enclosure is aimed at replacing and changing the image of your current entertainment center with something that proprietary audio-video companies only hope to emulate. Of course, this is just the enclosure and it's up to you to decide what goes in it. Allow me to show you why Moneual has succeeded in taking the home theater market to the next level.”

“Super Talent has teamed up with Virtual-Hideout for the month of April in order to giveaway three (3) PC2-6400 DDR2 overclocking memory kits! That's right, 3 chances to win one of these fantastic prizes! You don't need to visit the forums, or register or anything to enter. Simply enter your email into the box below and you're entered!”

The GeminII has performed great in the test rig. It was able to generate temperatures close to the Ultra Chill Tec Cooler, which was impressive I must say.

"NZXT delivers a high quality aluminum chassis with the Adamas, does this mid-tower have what it takes to keep a Core 2 Duo / Geforce 8800 GTX system cool and quiet? We find out"

Sunnyvale, CA—April 26, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced two new additions to the Reaper HPC family, reflecting OCZ’s dedication to evolving their memory lineup for enthusiasts of all walks of life. The two new kits will be available in two classifications depending on the platform at hand and desired performance levels. While both feature DDR2-800 speeds, the PC2-6400 Reaper Enhanced Bandwidth Edition is designed for optimal performance on NVIDIA nForce 680i chipsets.

As one of OCZ’s legendary Enhanced Bandwidth (EB) editions, the PC2-6400 Reaper EB increases effective memory bandwidth through the optimization of memory latencies between the system memory, the chipset, and memory controller. At 800MHz, the Reaper EB edition is rated for 4-3-3 timings on 680i platforms, while the standard PC2-6400 Reaper is rated to run CL4-4-4.

These unique DDR2-800 modules feature the Reaper HPC (Heat Pipe Conduit) heatspreader which is engineered to deliver superior silent heat dissipation over traditional heatspreaders. The Reaper HPC is an innovative cooling solution developed by OCZ to effectively minimize heat produced by high-speed memory. As heat rises into the thermo-conductive copper heat pipe conduit, it is dissipated through a compact aluminum fin array. By strategically guiding performance-robbing heat away from key memory components, the unique Reaper HPC design maximizes passive cooling to improve longevity and stability of the modules.

OCZ Technology has been manufacturing enthusiast quality memory for many years, and they have recently expanded their presence in other enthusiast markets. Their previous power supplies have generally been met with high praise in reviews, and they have now returned with a 1000W unit of their own, the ProXStream

It's not often that Crucial releases a new high-end kit, but they've finally caught up to everyone else and released Ballistix clocked at DDR2-1066. Today we are taking a look at the Tracer version and look to see how far we can push them over stock.

“In my last review I talked about how external drives are becoming very popular and today I will be taking a look at a very big external hard drive enclosure. This enclosure can hold 4 SATA drives that are connected to your PC via eSATA cables for maximum speed. Also did I mention the drives are hot swappable so you can take a drive out and use it in another enclosure. The enclosure I'm talking about is the Icydock MB561. Let's take a look...”

We have already tested the first version of the “Taiwanese Rocket” before. Now it is high time we checked out the new and improved Rocket II from Gigabyte. Stylish looks, universality, relatively simple installation, what else brings us this new air-cooling solution? Let’s find out now!

"Gigabyte has attempted to pull out all the stops with their new 3D Aurora 570. With a multitude of vendors scrambling to capture your hard-earned dollar for their enclosures, can Gigabyte be the one you want? And with long established names like Antec, CoolerMaster, ThermalTake, ABS, SilverStone, and others fighting it out in the enthusiast market, can the Aurora pull out in front? That's what we're going to find out..."

"Can you hear it? Silence, that's one of the calling cards for the Noctua NC-U6 chipset cooler we will be looking at today. This chipset cooler features heatpipe cooling, 29 aluminum fins, soldered connections and you guessed it, no fans. With today's hot-running chipsets, the stock cooling is marginal at best. For those who want to reach for and achieve the highest possible clock speeds, replacing the chipset cooling with something better is not optional - it is mandatory. Can a passive chipset cooler fit the bill for your performance needs? Let's find out."

Mice have come a long way from the days of dirty and dusty balls that always got clogged up at the worst times to the super futuristic optical mice with the cool looking red-light beaming from the bottoms. Now we have mice with "friggin-lasers", as Dr. Evil would say, that work on pretty much any surface you use them on. The next evolution of mice will extend beyond the basics of being accurate with movement tracking and having three buttons; Logitech is leading the way and their latest product, the MX Revolution is evidence of this.

"Steve Angelly has completed his review of the EVGA nForce 650i Ultra motherboard. With a starting price point of $99, this motherboard may be the ticket for a budget-minded single GPU system with the cheaper Intel processors."

"This motherboard is not intended to be a serious overclocker, but instead to be an asset to the digital home environment. What I mean by that is it's better suited as a possible HTPC or as a medium to get digital content to a device with a HDMI connection."

Sunnyvale, CA—April 23, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and power supplies, today announced the new StealthXStream Power Supply. This new 600W PSU features a conservative look with a sleek, black case and fan. Designed for the value-minded consumer seeking simple, quiet performance, the StealthXStream includes OCZ’s acclaimed reliability and feature-sets with a lower price point.

The StealthXStream is kept supremely cool with a large 120mm fan features a standard ATX power supply form factor resulting in a compact footprint to accommodate virtually all computer towers. With a sustained output of 600W and four +12V rails to provide uniform distribution of power, the StealthXStream is well-suited for and driving today's higher end systems. The rock solid StealthXStream is built to provide sufficient output to power dual GPU and CPU platforms, complete with two PCI-Express cables and a 4/8 CPU auxiliary connector which are wrapped in a flexible mesh promoting a tidy environment inside the case.

"I think everyone who has anything more important than the latest round of email jokes on your system should have some sort of Raid setup, or at the very least external backups. And I see no reason not to check out the CFI B4043 to see if it fits your needs."

Glinde, 18th April 2007 Power supply specialist be quiet! is launching the new Dark Power Pro 1000W to Computex 2007 in Taipei in TWTC Hall Booth C1134. This model is designed specially for 4x4 AMD CPU architecture and for server use.

The most powerful variant of the Dark Power Pro model from be quiet! will have a total of six +12V circuits. Five PCIe connectors (2x PCI-E 2.0 6+2-pin & 3x PCI-E 1.0 6-pin) ensure the optimum power supply of tomorrow's high-end systems. The fan noise level will be very low for this level of performance. Another striking feature of the most powerful Dark Power Pro model is its compact design, which allows installation in any ATX PC housing.

All the power supply units in the Dark Power Pro range are manufactured in accordance with ATX12V Version 2.2 and EPS12V Version 2.91 including 8-pin 12V connection specification.

With its 3-minute fan follow-up control after computer shut-down the ECASO technology contributes to the longer service life of the components installed in the PC. Like the 750W and 850W models, the compact 1000W power pack provides variable voltage supply of 100 – 240 VAC and will become available in June 2007.



The new high-end power supply unit will be fitted with a total of 20 cable strands, of which 18 will be removable. Six separate 12V circuits each with 20A ensure the optimum, stable distribution of the power requirements of a HIGH-END SYSTEM.

Two 6+2-pin PCI-E II connectors and three 6-pin PCI-E connectors are provided for SLI and Crossfire graphics cards with Physics support. In addition, there is a P8 connector and up to twelve SATA connectors for the connection of external peripheral devices.

Besides ECASO, thermal electronics regulate the rotational speed of the power supply fan and up to three housing fans which can be connected via the power supply unit. Depending on the type of mainboard, the speed indicator signal of the fan cans be read out. Listan offers for all be quiet! power supply series 3-year guarantee.

With the MX-1 Antec set out to manufacturer an enclosure for the discriminating buyer. Their stated goal was to offer the performance of an internal drive in a device that was both portable and actively cooled. Not necessarily a lofty goal, but easier said than done. There are a lot of factors that go into a product like this, including cooling protection, and connectivity, so I was interested to see how Antec's MX-1 stacked up.

In the ongoing efforts to squeeze every possible performance improvement out of their computing rig, most folks focus almost exclusively on the two heavy hitters in their system when it comes to generating frames per second (FPS): CPU and video card. Is it possible that both consumers and hardware manufacturers have been overlooking an untapped area for improvement?

"Nvidia's 8800GTX has been dominating the high end GPU market for around 6 months now and there has been little variation in this department. However, MSI have now released an overclocked GTX with its own water cooling setup. This is the MSI OC Liquid, let's see if it can give us some nice numbers."

“When you think of enthusiast memory Super Talent does not come to mind, but they do offer many different enthusiast modules. Today we will be looking at the T1000UX2G4 which is a 2GB kit of their 1000MHz enthusiast memory. We will be putting it up against some other name brands in the memory business to see just how well it performs. Read on for the review.”

"The NVIDIA Geforce 8800 VGA cards are available for some time now, but the amount of aftermarket heatsinks is still rather scarce for those power beasts. Now Thermalright steps forward with their HR-03 Plus, capable of cooling the G80 passively? Read on to learn more."

"Ever heard of Tuniq? If so, you probably associate them with their Tower 120 CPU heatsink, but they also make cases, and today take a peek at their new Tuniq 3 enclosure. Can this Sunbeamtech company shine in a crowded case market, or is it lights out for their newest chassis?"

"In the summer, most people turn on air conditioners to keep everything in their house cool. Now you can give your computer the same treatment with Waffer’s PC AirCon PAC 400. I was thrilled when I thought about how much cooler my case and components could get. Could air conditioning be the next big thing for us enthusiasts? Let’s dig in and find out how much of an impact a PC air conditioner truly makes."

If you put two huge peripheral developers in a blender, what would pour out? Well, if it's Microsoft and Razer, you'd have a Habu gaming mouse. Built upon Razer's intuitive designs and Microsofts amazing logo, the Habu proves to be a gaming mouse worthy of your consideration.

With Microsoft's Vista operating system and newer games like Supreme Commander sucking up system resources, 2GB of system memory is no longer a luxury, it's is fast becoming a necessity. However, not any 2GB kits will do the job, save for those running systems from Dell, Gateway, etc. For them, they'll probably never know the difference or benefits of a quality memory kit. But for those who pride themselves on benchmarking and fine tuning their systems to the cutting edge, only high octane components will do.

“This product is exactly what you would expect; a great deal. The hard drive has a ton of space to work with and would be of great use for the working person that needs to transfer lots of large files from work to home and back again on a consistent basis. The fact that the hard drive is refurbished, I would not necessarily place my most valued documents on it for backup. But hey, you never know. This drive could last you a whole lot longer than the six months it is covered for under warrant…”

“VGA cooling is important to both gamers and enthusiasts. As a gamer you want the best performance out of your video card and as an enthusiast you want to keep your graphics card as cool as it can be so you can achieve the best overclock possible. Today we will be looking at the Fatal1ty FC-ZV9 which features a pure copper heatsink and two high performance heatpipes. Read on for the review.”

"The Thermaltake Kandalf LCS Case combines a fantastic case with lots of excellent features and a brilliant water cooling kit that performance very well. More and more companies are putting together these case and water cooling combinations. This really makes sense because with today's computer hardware getting faster, a water cooling system will keep things cool. Also, if you prefer a quiet computer system, a water cooling setup is really the way to go. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end."

We’ve just posted an article at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features and performance of Sapphire’s unique Radeon X1950 Pro Dual. As its name suggests, this card has a pair of Radeon X1950 Pro GPUs on a single board. It also has 1GB of RAM and an insanely large cooler and PCB. Head on over to the site and check out this behemoth…

"We’ve taken a spy at ZEROtherm's GPU cooling range, and we're impressed; now its time for their CPU offerings. Today I have their range of butterfly coolers which may frighten the masculine but if their silent and cool well no-one will notice your lack of manlihood…"

The Super Talent T1000UX2G5 2GB PC2-8000 DDR2 Memory Kit performs great at its advertised speed of 1000MHz and fairly relaxed timings. Using more aggressive timings (4-4-4-12) allowed this memory to operated error-free up to 1075MHz, and changing the timings back to the default 5-5-5-15 allowed the memory to run stably at 1200MHz.

"The new aquacomputer aquaduct 360 XT external Watercooling with completely monitoring arrived Technic3D. The handling, low noise and cooling better than other Sets? Technic3D will see that in the following Review with a Intel QX6700 and Overclocking."

What I have for you today is PowerColor X1950 PRO SCS3. The card itself should be somewhat familiar, though 'SCS3' suffix explanation might be needed. You probably gathered from our previous PowerColor reviews what SCS stood for, if not than read along. Silent Cooling System is what PowerColor used for the first time with their Bravo X700, X800 XL SCS2 512MB and then with X1550 SCS. Now it's time for something completely fresh.

"Since many can't afford the highest priced processors on the market we have focused on the sub $200 processors from AMD and Intel for an article that shows gaming performance between the two processors. To keep under the $200 budget we went with the $185 Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6300 and the $184 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 5600+. Both of these processors are under $200 and are within just a dollar of each other, so when it comes to pricing alone it's an apple to apple comparison..."

DENVER,CO (April 19, 2007) – Mushkin, a global leader in high performance computer products, today released the HP2-6400 5-4-4 modules available in 4GB dual-channel kits and 2GB single DIMMs. Designed for high-performance and value, the HP2-6400 is specified for operation at 800MHz, 5-4-4-12 latencies. Each kit is tested beyond its rated specification to ensure the overclocking headroom and quality that Mushkin customers expect.

The HP2-6400, like all other Mushkin HP2 and XP2 products, features Enhanced Performance Profiles to simplify the overclocking process for both beginners and experts.

These kits also ship with Mushkin’s innovative FrostByte™ heatspreader, which utilizes more surface area and highly conductive thermal transfer materials for lower temperature operation, improved overclocking performance, and longer life.

Ideal for power-users looking to expand their current system memory, the 4GB HP2-6400 has ample speed and capacity to power next generation applications and games. This product will be especially useful for consumers using Windows Vista, or planning on migrating to the new operating system in the future.

“This product brings both high performance and great value to our 4GB DDR2 product class”, said Brian Flood, Director of Mushkin Product Development. “Along with the industry-leading XP2 4GB kits, we now offer end users the best range of options for upgrading to 4GB.”

The HP2-6400 reinforces Mushkin’s already strong position in the high-density DDR2 overclocking segment. It showcases Mushkin’s ultimate objective: to enhance the computing experience by providing reliable, high performance products.

The 4GB HP2-6400 kit will be available in limited quantities through the Mushkin.com manufacturer-direct web store and through authorized resellers and distributors.

"I chock this up as another excellent product, in an ever growing line of them. The DeathAdder is in a good price range for the average gamer, with good drivers, excellent build quality and enough features to please almost anyone."

Sunnyvale, CA—April 17, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the PC2-9600 Flex XLC series. The latest edition to OCZ’s esteemed enthusiast lineup implements the proprietary Flex XLC design and is engineered to produce extreme speeds with rock-solid stability. The PC2-9600 Flex modules are guaranteed to run at 1200MHz with ease thanks to the supreme component screening and thermal management of “Flex.”

“Memory performance is the key to system performance,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “In the complexity of today’s workloads, both speed and density are important factors when it comes to choosing memory solutions. The PC2-9600 Flex XLC kits satisfy both needs by providing 2GB of blazing fast DDR2 for even the most demanding applications. Moreover, the flexible cooling solution that can be adapted to either water or air cooling guarantees thermal balance even under extreme data traffic conditions.”

GIGABYTE unleashes the NVIDIA GeForce 8600 & 8500 series graphics cards with our unique passive cooling technologies - Silent-pipe and Screen Cooling.

This new series will deliver the astonishing MS DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.0 graphics performance, and integrate with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). Our nForce 650i SLI model, GA-N650SLI-DS4, will be a perfect fit for them. In last week, we have already unveiled the presentation of our Silent-pipe 3 and All Solid Capacitor Design. And now, officially announce that the cards are available thru our retail and E-tailor partners from April 17th.

The Hardware Labs Black Ice GT XTREME 480 High Performance Radiator is indeed a generational revolution from its traditional Xtreme case-mod professional origins. True second generation Black Ice GTX core design maximizes cooling, flow rates and peformance utilizing 4 x 120mm fans even in low RPM/noise conditions. Xtreme level performance as expected comes at the highest quality of design and construction to cater to the most discerning case-mod enthusiast. Using the new GTX platform, the GTX480 provides twice the liquid heat transfer surface area with a unique pre-cool/aftercool coolant flow configuration which increases heat transfer efficiency and internal system flow rates. The first effective dual core PC Radiator. High performance and quiet operation no longer need to be a compromise!

April 14, 2007—eXtreme Outer Vision, an innovative provider of online PC enthusiast tools,
today launched a new update for the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator.

The update contains up-to-date list of professional video cards, such as Quadro FX and FireGL from NVIDIA and ATI,
as well as new NVIDIA 8800 GTS 320MB video card. In addition, we added ATI Radeon X300, X300 SE, X600 Pro and X600 XT.

PUs update: added new socket 611 from the Intel and Itanium 2 processors; updated power consumption data
for the Intel Xeon E and X series (Clovertown).
The total number of processors which are currently available in the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator is 737.

“We also have some good news for our Pro version users,” commented Axel Brown, Senior Editor,
“now they have an ability to select up to four video cards, which makes an eXtreme addition to our calculator.”

“Razer has been making professional gaming gear for a while now. As far as mice goes we have seen the Copperhead, Diamondback, and Krait from Razer. All of these mice have been very successful and all Razer mice have had a big following. Today we will be looking at Razer's latest gaming mouse the DeathAdder. We had a chance to check it out during CES so we were excited to get our hands on it.”

With Microsoft's Vista operating system and newer games like Supreme Commander sucking up system resources, 2GB of system memory is no longer a luxury, it's is fast becoming a necessity. However, not any 2GB kits will do the job, save for those running systems from Dell, Gateway, etc. For them, they'll probably never know the difference or benefits of a quality memory kit. But for those who pride themselves on benchmarking and fine tuning their systems to the cutting edge, only high octane components will do.

"In Chinese culture, the pig is associated with fertility and virility. To bear children in the year of the pig is considered very fortunate, for they will be happy and honest." The Year 2007 is a Year of the Pig (Fire), which begins on February 18, 2007 and ends on February 6, 2008. To commemorate the Chinese New Year, Power Color has released a Golden Pig Special Edition X1650 Pro. Although there are no performance differences between this and a regular X1650 Pro, it does have a physical difference. The heatsink on the video card is shaped as a Golden Pig and the Golden Pig Special Edition X1650 Pro will be sold exclusively at NewEgg.com."

"These blocks are designed to cool any processor with great results and will make a great addition to your current water cooling system and given the new pricing across most of Koolance's product lines, both the Koolance CPU-330 and CHC-120-V10 are excellent buys making new Koolance water cooling systems more..."

Sunnyvale, CA—April 12, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and components, today announced the ModXStream Series, a new line of power supplies designed to offer consumers a combination of OCZ’s legendary PSU architecture and an efficient modular cable management system. Available in 780W and 900W models, the high efficiency ModXStream offers the industry’s highest performing modular power supplies on the market.

As a gamer or case modder, modular cabling is a necessity when building a cool and orderly system. To optimize airflow and eliminate cable mazes, the ModXStream power supply is equipped with EZMod technology to allow complete customization of your power system by utilizing only the cables you require.

Next generation platforms and high performance graphics cards are essential to modern gamers and enthusiasts. Complete with dual PCI-Express cables and six serial ATA connectors, the rock solid ModXStream is built to provide sufficient output to power demanding GPU and setups. With a sustained output of 780W or 900W and four +12V rails to provide uniform distribution of power, the ModXStream is the superlative solution for and driving today's higher end systems.

Meridian, Idaho, and Glasgow, UK, 10 April, 2007 – Crucial Technology today announced the immediate availability of 1066MHz Ballistix® and Ballistix Tracer® DDR2 modules. The new DDR2 PC2-8500 modules broaden Crucial’s high-performance memory product lines and are optimized to provide excellent performance on newer, cutting-edge motherboards.

Along with Ballistix PC2-6400 and PC2-8000 modules, these new 1066MHz modules utilize Enhanced Performance Profiles (EPP) memory technology by simplifying overclocking in EPP-supported systems. EPP technology allows preconfigured performance memory settings to be built into high-performance memory DIMMs, increasing overall PC system performance.

“For demanding customers looking for excellent performance, faster speeds and lower latencies, Ballistix memory is the ideal solution – and the new DDR2 PC2-8500 modules are no exception. Plus, they’re backed by a limited-lifetime warranty and the stellar support that’s synonymous with the Crucial name,” said Jeremy Mortenson, Crucial’s DRAM product marketing manager.

Crucial Ballistix and Ballistix Tracer DDR2 PC2-8500 memory is available in 1GB modules, as well as in 2GB kits, at http://www.crucial.com/ballistix or http://www.crucial.com/uk/ballistix.

The ABIT AB9 Pro uses a rather distinctive layout, so at first glance some connectors look haphazardly placed. In practice the board is pretty easy to hook up, and where connectors look out of place there is actually extra room to accommodate them - the SATA connectors are a good example. The AB9 Pro has no less than six fan headers strategically located around the PCB, with at least one 4-pin PWM connection for the CPU fan heatsink. The board uses Rubycon electrolytic capacitors.

MSI has always excelled in videocard overclocking - maybe it's that shade of red they coat every motherboard and videocard with.... As the MSI NX7900GS-T2D512E-OC comes from the factory already pretty heavily overclocked, we're not expecting too much more from the GPU and memory. By default the GPU is clocked at 550 MHz, while the memory hums along at a brisk 1400 MHz.

On the surface, the 802.11n draft spec router claims that it is capable of a maximum burst transfer speed of 300Mbps, a substantial increase over the 54Mbps that most 802.11g routers can handle. Unfortunately, it never came even close to this claimed throughput, though it did manage to get things moving along at a slightly faster pace than the 802.11g standard (this is based on a comparison with the Linksys WRT54G).

“The OCZ XTC memory cooler has a lot of great and useful features. Starting with its chromed elegance and bright blue LEDs, this cooler has ‘head turner’ written all over it. But there is brawn behind those looks as well! With an eleven degree drop over stock installation without a cooler at load, this cooler will have anybody seriously looking at aftermarket memory cooling waiting for their chance with the beauty. A three degree differential between idle and load is enough for any enthusiast to seriously consider this product from OCZ…”

Logisys Computer Inc. has been around for a number of years offering a variety of computer products such as power supplies, computer cases, bay devices, and modding accessories. One of their new products, the PC Extension Station, is designed to elevate your LCD or CRT monitor and provide a storage area for your keyboard, while also providing a handful of other useful features which we will detail as we move through the review.

"OCZ felt there was a customer base willing to pay for a good, reliable CAS Latency 4 memory kit that sports the FlexXLC RAM Sink since their flagship PC2-9200 FlexXLC Kit requires a prettier penny. After using the memory for a local INTEL sponsored LAN party, it definitely drew some very curious users looking for something new to add to their extreme gaming systems."

Sunnyvale, CA—April 9, 2007—As digital cameras and video recorders produce higher and higher resolution images, the need for more memory has reached a new high. OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today introduced a new line of SDHC flash memory cards to their high performance Secure Digital™ family. OCZ SD High Capacity (SDHC™) cards comply with the new SDA 2.00 specification to support capacities over 2GB. Available in 4GB and 8GB configurations, OCZ SDHC cards are ideal for the latest digital cameras and electronics.

Compliant with specifications determined by the SD Association, OCZ SDHC cards are Speed Class 4 rated, ensuring a minimum write speed of 4MB/s. These high capacity cards are only compatible with SDHC compliant products and are not backwards compatible with traditional SD format devices. More and more next generation devices are expected to host SDHC.

“Storage capacity has become more and more important with consumers shooting high quality pictures and video,” said Alex Mei, Executive VP at OCZ Technology Group. “The latest generation of digital cameras and camcorders from Nikon, Canon, Casio, and Panasonic are already SDHC compatible, and the new OCZ SDHC cards deliver an exceptional balance of high capacity and fast transfer speeds to photo and video enthusiasts, allowing them to capture more images with the highest quality settings.”

"If there is one common truth in web design, it's that the creation of CSS was a great (and much needed) development that has been butchered in the end by the browser industry. Time and time again we are forced to deal with the inconsistencies that are surfaced when you view layouts in different browsers. One browser renders space above an "h1" differently, another spaces elements of a "form" as if padding were free money. It's frustrating. It's irritating. It's time consuming.
And in many cases, the issues can be worked out, but only after tweaking any number of attributes. One would assume the best solution would be an industry standard default rendering scheme. Go ahead and keep reading once you're done laughing."

“Multimedia content is becoming more mainstream with the ability to download your favorite TV shows off such services as iTunes. This content is great to watch on your computer, but what if you want to play it on your TV? You could go out and build a HTPC, but if you are not that computer-savvy then you may be out of luck. Well today we will be checking out a product that will let you stream media from any PC in your house wirelessly to your TV and even stream off any USB device.”

Looking to cool all of PCI cards in your computer but can’t get a fan mounted in the right place? We might have come across the answer, in the form of CoolIT’s PCI Cooling Booster. CoolIT, makers of a wide range of cooling products, has impressed us in the past with their innovative cooling solutions. Will this one give their reputation a boost? That is what we’re here to find out in this review.

The ProXStream is a very basic looking unit. Basic, until you realize that this power supply is a coffee and cigarette smoking sized 150 x 140 x 86mm. There have been many many times that a pre-modded case or a smaller rig has said "no" to a power supply that exceeded 160mm in depth. I can tell you from experience that this is something you don't think about until after your order shows up and you find you are 10mm too long. My walls have some spackle in them from outbursts prompted by this type of thing. At least that won't be a problem with the OCZ ProXStream.

Today we are going to look at three solutions from Dell and Samsung with 27” and 30” diagonal. 27” monitors may be interesting for people who often watch movies on their PC and who need a large screen with a resolution sufficient for HDTV. 30” models may make a good work monitor for people who process complex design drawings and schematics or have to work with multiple documents at once. So, let’s see how good out today’s testing participants are!

The Ultra MicroFly case is one of the most common SFF (Small Form Factor) cases on the market. It allows for the mounting of a full-size ATX PSU, while other SFF cases have to have to run a smaller PSU. We originally took a look at Ultra's MicroFly back in July of last year. Today we are going to look at one of their latest versions the Ultra MicroFly MX6.

we’ve got a new article live at HotHardware featuring Asus’ take on the recently released GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB, the aptly named EN8800GTS/HTDP/320M. Unlike a few other 320MB GTS cards, the Asus EN8800GTS/HTDP/320M is not pre-overclocked from the factory. It does ship with a decent accessory bundle, however, that includes a couple of full version games. Asus also throws in a handful of proprietary applications and utilities in an attempt to further add value to their product.

"I'm no tree hugging hippie by any means but I still think we need a clean environment to live in, and I'm all for a cheaper electric bill in the end. The EarthWatts EA-500 did perform as described which is a major plus. I do hope with future releases of this type of power supply we see some higher wattage units."

“This article set out to find the answer to a question inspired by ASUS' hybrid chipset; can you have nForce 680i SLI performance with dual x16 SLI, at a nForce 650i SLI price? In order to answer that question, we took the only commercially available example of ASUS' hybrid chipset, the P5N32-E SLI Plus and pit it against the nForce 680i SLI based Abit IN9 32X-MAX. After reviewing both boards, comparing their features and pitting them against each other in a slew of benchmarks, we think we have our answer.”

"There are many small form factor (SFF) cases on the market, but very few come close to the features found on the Thermaltake LANBOX SFF Case. This product looks great, has a very strong handle, excellent air circulation and has a modular chassis. This modular chassis design means that the motherboard tray, power supply mount, external drive bay cage and internal drive bay cage can be easily removed. It’s an amazing design because the computer components can be installed or removed outside the case. This gives the computer users lots of room to work. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end."

"Kandalf raised his magic wand and with one swing of the wrist, everything around became cold, the water in the lakes froze and the air was easier to breathe. A great opening for the start of a new Harry Potter book, but the Kandalf I’m talking about is the Thermaltake Kandalf LCS. This case comes complete with it own liquid cooling system that includes a radiator and pump large enough to cool your CPU (with the included water block), but also a VGA Card, Hard Drive and North Bridge chipset when the need arises to add some optional water blocks to your system."

Part of the irony of this, though, is because the PowerColor X1550 is an entry-level card, it very rarely actually makes full use of the 512MB of dedicated graphics memory: the rest of the card can't exactly keep up. If you're hoping to achieve the same kinds of results as cards that cost three or four times the asking price of the $99 X1550, you're going to be sorely disappointed. By contrast, if you're a light gamer or you're willing to run your first-person shooters and other graphic intense games at less than their maximum capable resolutions and frame rates, the PowerColor X1550 will certainly save you a few bucks while still being able to do an adequate, budget-minded job.

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the Calibre 8800GTX video card from Sparkle which uses TEC-cooling to keep the temperatures down. Using a TEC-cooler is something that has made it possible for Sparkle to overclock their card right out of the box as well. ASUS has chosen another route when it comes to finding a good cooling solution for an overclocked card. With the vide card we are reviewing today, the ASUS EN8800GTX AquaTank, ASUS has combined an 8800GTX video card with a Thermaltake Tide Water cooling device.

Today, it is our pleasure at Bjorn3D to present our take on Mushkin's XP2-6400 4GB DDR2 memory kit. Is it the highest performance 4GB overclocking kit available? Did Mushkin's emphsis on quality transcend to this product? Read on my friends and the answer to these questions and many others that you may have will be revealed!

"Can you tame the beast within? This fire-breathing beast of a motherboard will make all of your overclocking wishes and dreams come true! That's the challenge put forth by Abit. The IN9 32X-MAX is touted as the company's premiere 680i chipset mother board. It boasts features such as quad core support, true 32X SLI support, physics capabilities and silent OTES cooling for the motherboard chipsets. Being the latecomer to the 680i playing field, I have high hopes for this motherboard. Today we will be looking at one of Abit's newest socket 775 motherboards, the IN9 32X-MAX."

“In this article I will be reviewing the UFO Acrylic Case from Sunbeam. This case is 100% clear and comes in a low profile cube. Two levels offer easy installation of components, and it even has some extra room for watercooling gear. The UFO Acrylic Cube case also comes with two clear 120mm fans with blue LED's. If you plan on showing off your prized hardware in this clear case, I would suggest getting some hard drive enclosures and nice optical drive to compliment the other hardware, as everyone will be able to see everything.”

The all-new Fluid XP+ Vortex XP CPU Water Block will shatter enthusiasts expectations about water block design, appearance, and high quality manufacturing. Unique to the Vortex XP series is the "Vortex Action" flow chamber design that provides outstanding flow rates while the unique base plate design delivers thermal control better than any restriction or impingement based blocks currently on the market. The Vortex XP design is optimized using the fuzion block technology for the current high wattage multiple core processors now on the market today. Special enhancements have been made to the block to help in flow distribution for dual core and quad core processors. This block is truly a force to reckoned with, don't underestimate its gravity!

Sunnyvale, CA—April 3, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced a high-speed version of the new OCZ Reaper HPC memory line, a PC2-9200 rated kit, making it the world’s fastest memory that takes advantages of the heatpipe design to effectively offload heat and increase performance and stability. This unique Reaper HPC (Heat Pipe Conduit) heatspreader is engineered to deliver superior silent heat dissipation over traditional heatspreaders.

As part of one of OCZ’s high performance memory designs, PC2-9200 Reaper HPC modules are designed to achieve exceptionally high frequencies while maintaining aggressive timings and system stability. The new Reaper DDR2-1150 is the premier, cutting-edge solution for enthusiasts building a performance machine.

“With ultra-high speed memory comes the need for extreme cooling solutions that can be extremely costly or else rely on smart features borrowed from other cooling areas,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “The Reaper HPC series is the first implementation of heat-pipe technology on memory modules using phase change technology for smart management of the thermal dissipation of one of the world's fastest memory modules, namely the PC2-9200 Reaper.”

The PC2-9200 Reaper HPC modules are optimized for the latest cutting edge motherboards and will be available in 2GB (2x1024MB) dual channel kits.

"In this article we use Liquid Nitrogen to control the CPU temperature to gain impressive increases in performances from the highest rated Intel Core 2 CPU the X6800. Going well below zero the Mhz go flying sky high..."

"The thought of adding a media card reader into a USB flash drive is just another way to simplify our cluttered lives. With Kingston and Microsoft working together, the DataTraveler ReadyFlash was created using the next generation of memory technology. The Windows ReadyBoost feature provides users with...."

Super Talent has teamed up with Virtual-Hideout for the month of April to giveaway (3) PC2-6400 DDR2 over clocking memory kits valued around $200 each! That's right, 3 prizes and 3 chances to win! Just stop by and drop your email into the box and click submit to enter! It’s that easy!