July 2007

When it comes to PC chassis, no one does it better than Cooler Master. For years now, Cooler Master has been on the leading edge of PC chassis design. Today, Cooler Master is pleased to announce its latest creation – the CM 690 PC chassis. By utilizing a unique mesh design, the CM 690 effectively blends together both form and function, offering users a mid-tower chassis without compromise.

When looking at the CM 690, it’s easy to be taken in by its bold lines and superb styling. But don’t let its exterior fool you – the CM 690 is a lot more than just a pretty face. Its unique Cooler Master mesh design not only gives it its modern good looks, but also facilitates excellent thermal performance. Inside, users can install up to seven 120mm fans for high-efficiency ventilation, making the CM 690 perfectly suited for today’s high-powered hardware. A 80x15 mm fan can even be installed at the rear of the motherboard tray to keep the CPU area well cooled. Other innovations like the bottom-mounted power supply, top mounted ventilation holes and retaining holes for water cooling units makes the CM 690 the ideal choice for systems that require the utmost stability.

"When SST says redesigned, they mean redesigned. The SG03 is a unique SFF enclosure and does indeed earn the title of being SST's new flagship enclosure. The aluminum construction and dual mini bezel doors with front panel mesh intake really show off the front of the SG03. The hard drive trays also double as heatsinks, and the enclosure brace also doubles as a 3.5" bracket. Brilliant!"

San Jose, California - July 30, 2007 -- Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of DRAM memory modules and flash storage solutions, today announced the world's fastest production DDR3 kit. W1866UX2G8 is a 2GB Kit that is tested and guaranteed to operate at 1866MHz (PC3-14900) at extremely low latencies.

The W1866UX2G8 Kit, the world's first 1866MHz 2GB Kit (2x 1GB), supports ultra low 8-8-8-24 latencies. This Kit is built with the fastest available, carefully screened DRAM chips, and is hand tested as a matched pair on a dual channel Asus P5K3 Deluxe motherboard at its rated specs at 1.9 volts.

Super Talent Marketing Director, Joe James commented, "We're applying vast engineering resources to drive DDR3 performance to higher levels. This low latency 1866 Kit is the result of exhaustive testing and sorting of components, and this product stands without rival as the fastest DDR3 memory in the world." This product follows on the heels of Super Talent's very popular DDR3-1600 CL7 kit. Mr. James added, "Our DDR3 strategy is to be first to market with industry standard speed grades - 1333, 1600, and 1866 - and to optimize performance by supporting the lowest possible latencies".

This kit comes equipped with Super Talent's black cast aluminum heatsinks and is backed with a lifetime warranty. The W1866UX2G8 is designed, built and tested in Super Talent's San Jose, California headquarters. This product begins shipping today. Street price on the W1866UX2G8 will be approximately $625.

"The Thermaltake MaxOrb performed well and is right in-line with other coolers of its type - and this is with warm ambient temperatures. The speed control functioned smoothly and when on high speed, the noise from the fan was barely noticeable. The LED's cast a nice blue glow which highlights the fins without being overpowering."

The Cooler Master name has been synonymous with quality computer chassis with unmatched functionality and design. One such chassis is the NVIDIA® Edition Stacker 830 Evolution Case. Co-developed with NVIDIA, this award-winning PC chassis offers a stylish aluminum design, tool-free accessibility, and was the first case to pass NVIDIA’s SLI-Ready Certification Program, signifying complete compatibility with NVIDIA GeForce® SLI Dual-Graphics solutions. Previously, this chassis was only available on NVIDIA’s online store. Due to popular demand, the NVIDIA Edition Stacker 830 Evolution Case will now be available for purchase at retail locations worldwide.

Designed with NVIDIA, the NVIDIA® Edition Stacker 830 Evolution Case features smart design for the serious gamer. At the top of the design list was superior thermal management, which the Stacker 830 delivers in spades. Its stylish aluminum housing not only looks good, but also draws system-crashing heat away from hot components. The Stacker 830 also accommodates a whopping nine 120mm fans, while high ventilation openings on both the top and the sides of the chassis provide excellent airflow. An exclusive fan frame design provides complete screwless assembly, and space for up to nine 5.25” drives means nearly limitless upgrade possibilities. Add to that Cooler Master’s solid construction and superb build quality, and you have a chassis that is built to withstand even the most intense of gaming sessions.

GIGABYTE United, City of Industry, CA, July 18, 2007 – GIGABYTE, the leading brand of Motherboard manufacturer, has taken Intel P35 motherboard to extreme with its Ultra Durable 2 Series motherboard, aiming at those PC enthusiasts who has been craving for an ultimate solution without sacrificing features, performance and durability to pricing point. In light of its phenomenal success of Ultra Durable 2 Series in Americans Market, GIGABYTE invited media elites to Tech Talk where Mr. Tony Liao, Associate Vice President of Worldwide Marketing of GIGABYTE United, sat down with them to talk in detail on sustainable strength that has led GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 Series far ahead its followers. A live demonstration to compare GA-P35-DS3P over competitor’s motherboard based on the same configurations was also setup onsite to further substantiate the leading position of Ultra Durable 2 Series.

“Every single Ultra Durable 2 Motherboard is equipped with quality components such as Low-RDS MOSFETs, Ferrite Core Chokes and Japanese All-Solid Capacitor to help reduce heat dissipation and significantly increase motherboard life expectancy. This is a breakthrough for overclockers, since overclocking generates more heats around CPU and significantly shortens the life spans of motherboard as a result.” says Tony Liao. Speaking of durability, Tony Liao also demonstrated operating temperature test on Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P vs. competitor’s Motherboard. GIGABYTE outperformed competitor by 33ºC/91ºF lower on CPU VRM and North Bridge average temperature, leaving more headroom for overclocking. The result is extremely encouraging and impressive for PC enthusiasts in that the life span of GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 2 Series motherboard is at least 9 times longer than that of its peers.

Enthusiasts always can expect more from GIGABYTE. Unlike competitors using 3 phase power, GIGABYTE further pushes the boundary by using 6 phase power regulation to enhance reliability and overclocking capability on the top of its Ultra Durable 2 design.

“The next step forward is to introduce Ultra Durable 3 that incorporates an intelligent power monitoring software into BIOS." says Tony Liao. "The sustainable strength of Gigabyte brand is to continuously use top-of-the-line components to make the best Motherboards without asking for price premium from our customers." "We set ourselves far apart from competitors by not following cost-cutting trend. This is why we insist on putting Ultra Durable 2, 6 phase power, and Silent-Pipe Thermal Solutions in place" says Tony Liao.

GIGABYTE wrapped up Tech Talk by the showcase of upcoming Intel X38 and G35 Express-based Motherboard, as well as AMD M790 Motherboard, along with a live demonstration for full product line up, including Thermal, Server, Communications and Networking Solutions.

“ASRock is offering up another budget mATX board, this time for the video enthusiast wanting HD video playback. The motherboard this time around is the new AliveNF7G-HDready. The heart of this motherboard is the new NVIDIA® GeForce 7050 / nForce 630A MCP chipset. This chipset allows the AliveNF7G-HDready to playback 720p H.264 movies. With the new chipset the motherboard has two video connection on the rear I/O panel: one for VGA D-Sub and the other DVI-D. Many other features adorn the AliveNF7G, like RAID 0,1,5,0+1, rear panel IEEE port, Gigabit LAN 10/100/1000, and a plethora of onboard USB2.0 headers. Enough with my talk and check out the specifications below.”

07/25/2007 – For small-to-medium businesses, the ability to secure data is just as important as storing it. Thecus Technology, leading manufacturer of quality digital storage solutions, is pleased to announce that it will bundle FarStone’s DriveClone 3 Pro hard drive imaging and recovery software with its SMB NAS storage models. With Thecus’ proven network storage technology and FarStone’s renowned DriveClone 3 Pro software, small-to-medium businesses will have an even more complete out-of-the-box experience with Thecus products, and can rest easy knowing that their data is safe and secure.

DriveClone 3 Pro’s external hard disk imaging lets users quickly recover, replace, or upgrade their hard drives in case of ANY catastrophic data disaster. Users use DriveClone 3 Pro to make an exact copy of both files and folders, and store them directly onto their Thecus NAS device. Simple enough for a home user, DriveClone 3 Pro still has plenty of features for the system administrator, who can copy a single disk image onto multiple computer systems, dramatically reducing the time needed to install new software, configure settings, and load data. DriveClone 3 Pro includes incremental backup functionality — saved disk images can be quickly updated to keep data current — and allows users to perform most imaging tasks or without ever leaving Windows. By including DriveClone 3 Pro with selected Thecus IP storage solutions, Thecus customers can enjoy a more robust backup solution that comes complete with unmatched functionality and value.

DriveClone 3 Pro will come bundled with the following models:

N4100+
1U4500R/S
N5200B/BR
N5200B/BR PRO

Sunnyvale, Calif.--July 26, 2007--OCZ Technology Group, a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability PC components, today announced that the Silencer® 750 Quad power supply from PC Power & Cooling has been chosen by leading technology publication Maximum PC to power its 2007 annual "Dream Machine." The famed "Dream Machine" is a high-performance computer system built each year by Maximum PC to represent the ultimate in cutting-edge hardware and performance. Representing the pinnacle of power management innovation and reliability, PC Power & Cooling power supplies have been chosen to power every Maximum PC "Dream Machine" since 1999. Nine consecutive power supplies have powered the annual "dream" build, including the Turbo-Cool 425 ATX (1999), the Turbo-Cool 850 (2005), and now the Silencer 750 Quad (2006 and 2007).

Selected to power this ultimate machine two years running, the Silencer 750 Quad is designed to offer consumers a combination of high output capacity and quiet power management. Delivering 750 Watts of continuous power and 825 Watts of peak power, the Silencer 750 Quad is a high-efficiency PSU with a single 12V rail design for effective power distribution. If noise is a concern, the Silencer series is engineered to quietly perform, with up to 90% (10dB) less noise per watt.

"...this SLI/CrossFire-ready PSU delivers more than enough juice. Even better, the unit uses a single-rail design to power all components," states the official Dream Machine article, published in the September 2007 issue of Maximum PC. "While other PSU-makers sport multiple rails, which don't make efficient use of resources, the Silencer 750 Quad puts the power where you need it."

"We are proud of the fact that Maximum PC has recognized the performance and reliability of our products for nine consecutive years," said Doug Dodson, CTO of Power Management for PC Power & Cooling and OCZ. "With dozens of PC Power & Cooling power supplies used in their labs over the years without a single failure, the editors at Maximum PC know they can count on our power supplies to deliver the reliability and performance these ultimate machines need."

Logitech today unveiled a groundbreaking keyboard design that is a significant evolution of the familiar straight keyboard, yet doesn’t require people to relearn how to type. The new Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave and the Logitech Wave Keyboard feature the Logitech Comfort Wave Design, which increases keyboard comfort for Mac and PC users. Both products are expected to be available worldwide beginning in late August.
The Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave will have a suggested retail price of
$89.99 (U.S.). The Logitech Wave Keyboard will have a suggested retail price of $49.99 (U.S.). More information about the Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave is available at www.logitech.com/wave.

“ASUS has had various P5N models spanning different chipset revisions as improvements have been implemented. Since ASUS is a well known international name, there P5N-E SLI Motherboard has one purpose: Provide a solid platform with balanced features and stability while keeping the affordable. Given the chipset's track record, it's quite possible that the motherboard may prove to be another viable option the next time you place an order or walk in the store. Let's take a look at the ASUS P5N-E SLI Motherboard that ASUS was very kind in sending.”

“The benefits of buying these high frequency memory kits is that you can expect the very best memory modules used to build them and they often run at higher stock frequencies without degrading the memory kit. We've seen some insane overclocks and memory performance from various PC2-7200, PC2-8500, and PC2-9200 memory kits. Patriot Memory is currently working to bring some extreme memory kits that will definitely peak your interests. In the meantime, one of those kits happens to be their new PC2-9200 Extreme Memory Kit. Have a look at this kit before you go off buying some with fancier heat sinks.”

“Gigabyte Technology is perhaps best known for its motherboards, but they are active in many other areas. One of them is PC cases, and they are hoping to catch some eyes with their newest series of cases, the Triton 180. The case market has expanded quite a lot in the past few years; no longer is it adequate for a good case to just be well-built. Not only does it have to look good, but it has to provide a multitude of features such as good cooling, ease-of-access, and a tool-less design if people will be willing to part with their money for it. Gigabyte hopes to accomplish this with their Triton 180 series, an entry into the ever-popular mid-tower ATX market. With its stylish design, it certainly looks the part - but does it deliver the goods? “

Logitech's VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks features the world's smallest USB receiver and our MicroGear Precision Scroll Wheel (introduced in the MX/VX Revolution mice last year). The mouse's ambidextrous, compact design makes it a great travel partner for on-the-go notebook users. The nano-receiver is especially nice because people don't have to plug and unplug the receiver everytime they set up or shut down their notebook -- it won't snag on notebook bags because it's nearly flush with the notebook when plugged in.

“Every now and then, a little-known company comes out of the ether and delivers a product that is revolutionary. Mvix believes its MV-5000U media-playing hard enclosure is a candidate for these laurels. Once the end-user installs a hard drive in the MV-500U, he or she can use it for storage or, when combined with a television, as a portable media player (one can even put it in a car!). However, the MV-5000U isn't all it's cracked up to be, but shows promise. Read on to find out why.”

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — She is a latecomer to the information superhighway, but 75-year-old Sigbritt Lothberg is now cruising the Internet with a dizzying speed.

Lothberg's 40 gigabits-per-second fiber-optic connection in Karlstad is believed to be the fastest residential uplink in the world, Karlstad city officials said.

In less than 2 seconds, Lothberg can download a full-length movie on her home computer — many thousand times faster than most residential connections, said Hafsteinn Jonsson, head of the Karlstad city network unit.

So, if you bought your iPhone at 6 PM on June 29, 2007, your phone will kick the bucket on May 4, 2009 at 6 PM.

Until then, enjoy your iPhone. Or, make our Death Widget your start-up page on your iPhone and live in constant fear of the dark date looming in your future.

Tick, tock, tick, tock…

Fifty-one billion dollars is a number so big it's hard to get your mind around -- a number-of-galaxies-in-the-sky number, a Halliburton-no-bid-contract number. Still, I'm willing to believe Microsoft took in that much in its just-ended fiscal year. But Microsoft says that huge number was in some way helped by "solid customer acceptance" of Vista? Come on, I wasn't born yesterday.

It is the richest going-away party in history. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's all-conquering fantasy series, sold a mountainous 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours.

“Being an avid system exploiter, I definitely enjoy a look at something new and different. D-Tek Customs has had some pretty cool ideas from the start and continues to show improvements for simpler water cooling products that make designing their own cooling system. Sharka Computers was kind enough to send us D-Tek's latest two water cooling D-TEK FuZion and FuZion GFX water blocks which have received a pretty cool face lift. Sharka Computers is a great place to get some impressive performance hardware, so naturally it makes sense they would pick up something that can appeal and perform the way enthusiasts would expect.”

"A simple and stylish enclosure is what Thermaltake has provided its customers once again. Personally, I love the High-gloss Piano finish and so do my greasy fingerprints, but that is something I can live with. On the inside of the bezel is a filter to help reduce the amount of dust that enters the enclosure, but this is counteracted by the use of side intakes fans."

Milton Keynes / Dornach. Now the market launch has started: HIPER´s latest 5th Generation Power Supplies with integrated USB ports and charger port are available in North America by end of July. Debuted at Cebit 2007, the launch models are HPU-5K770 and HPU-5M730, both are packed with solid performance and durability. Besides the well-known server class design, build and quality, and Earth-friendly packaging, these new PSUs are upgraded with “Patented” features: total of 4 integrated USB 2.0 ports, plus one convenient USB-style port for charging most mobile devices even when the computer is powered off. This is another example of Hiper’s dedication to the “Energy Saving”, thus yield real monetary saving to the consumer.

The HPU-5K770 is the first PSU of the new Type R Mk II Series which comes in the un-mistakable “HiperToolBox”, fully equipped and certified up to NVIDIA® GeForce 8800 GTX. The HPU-5M730 comes from the “M Series”. It also comes with the 4+1 USB set up, plus HIPER’s patented ExTender® for optimized cable management. This model now represents the current entry model of the 5th generation.

The recommended retail prices will be around US$ 169 for the HPU-5K770 and US$ 154 for the HPU-5M730 (prices excl. VAT).

HIPER will be releasing “Ultra-efficient” models reaching up to 87% of both series in the next few months; this is only the launch of the 5th Generation PSU technology.

"It’s always nice when a local company makes a big splash in the world. CoolIT has done just that. Pretty much every tech blog and magazine around couldn’t get enough of their USB drink cooler. Then when they released their Freezone and Eliminator coolers, they proved that they could actually deliver a unique and very desirable high end product."

"There are quite a few Rhoebus and Fan Controllers out there that will allow you to control your fan speeds. I don't know of any that can do what the Zalman ZM-MFC2 Multi Fan Controller can do. Not only does it provide you with the ability to control your fans, but it can also report your system's temperatures, and how much wattage your system is using. And, it looks nothing like any other unit out there."

Tested and qualified to reach DDR3-1800 with ample overclocking capability and aggressive latencies, the OCZ PC3-14400 Platinum Edition is a true milestone. At 1800MHz, the OCZ PC3-14400 modules are rated to run CL8-8-8 to take the latest Intel platforms to previously unimaginable levels.


“OCZ is excited to release the world’s first 1800MHz DDR3 solution, which offers consumers not only the fastest production specification, but has additional headroom for enthusiasts to go on and break records,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology. “Following on the heels of the 1600MHz release of OCZ DDR3 comes the 1800MHz DDR3 series with a peak bandwidth of 14400MB per second and latencies comparable to the fastest offerings of DDR or DDR2. No other architecture can offer the same balance of bandwidth and latencies, and no other architecture has annihilated all existing high scores within a mere few weeks after its introduction and the OCZ3P18001G series plays an integral part in this triumphant achievement.”

“ASRock has been gaining recognition in the motherboard market with quality budget boards that are very stable. A few months back, I reviewed the ASRock ALiveNF6G-DVI which had some decent overclocking ability to it. This time around, I'm going to be reviewing the AliveNF5-eSATA2+ which uses the nForce520 chipset. The motherboard supports the AM2 line of AMD processors from FX, X2, 64, and Sempron, and supports overclocking. Printed right on the motherboard is Dual Core CPU and Dual Channel DDR2-800. Some of the other features will be gone over in the review, so sit back and enjoy the ride.”

Sunnyvale, Calif.—July 17, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announces two new 1600MHz parts including the world’s first enhanced bandwidth high speed DDR3. The newest additions to the OCZ DDR3 family offer enthusiasts performance they can really sink their teeth into and feature blazing fast speeds of 1600MHz and the incredibly fast latencies of 7-7-7 and 7-6-6 on ASUS motherboards.

The new PC3-12800 Platinum Edition was developed to offer enthusiasts a memory solution that takes full advantage of the capabilities of the Intel P35 and X38 Express chipsets. At 1600MHz, the OCZ PC3-12800 Platinum and is rated to run CL7-7-7 to truly take these next generation platforms to new heights.

For enthusiasts OCZ is introducing the PC3-12800 EB (Enhanced Bandwidth) Edition featuring the ideal balance of sheer DDR3 speed and enhanced timings. This memory is specially designed and optimized for the latest generation of ASUS motherboards. As one of OCZ’s legendary Enhanced Bandwidth (EB) editions, the DDR3-1600 Platinum EB increases effective memory bandwidth through the optimization of memory latencies between the system memory, the chipset, and memory controller. At 1600MHz, the PC2-12800 EB edition is rated for 7-6-6 timings on ASUS platforms.

“DDR3 is pushing the performance envelope beyond the limitations of the DDR2 concept,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology Group. “By nearly doubling the frequency, the nominally higher latency cycles amount to overall lower access delays in combination with substantially higher bandwidth. Moreover, using OCZ’s patent-pending Enhanced Bandwidth technology, the OCZ PC3-12800 EB series is effectively undercutting the fastest access latencies ever achieved in any double data rate memory in the personal computing marketplace.”

“Aside from the very cool blocks, radiators, and components, Danger Den also realized that they needed some kind of enclosure or case that would provide a better presentation. Since, most water cooling users like to show off their systems, it seemed only fit to create a clear, acrylic line of enclosures would be developed that had an original look over the contemporary square tower cases. Among their current cases are the Water Box, Water Box Plus, Danger Den Air Box, and Torture Rack. Being that I love a good, useful computer case, Danger Den has been gracious in sending VH the Torture Rack to better show you some of its great benefits and features.”

There are several concerns that immediately come into play when taking this step, however. Many of these concerns have been addressed with a variety of products available on the market. When traveling with your laptop, you are constantly worried about keeping it properly protected against the occasional bump, bruise, or spill and that's where something like this Gigabyte-branded notebook sleeve comes into play.

Sunnyvale, CA—July 10, 2007—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative ultra-high performance and high reliability memory, today announced the PC2-6400 Platinum and PC2-6400 Gold 4GB “Quad” Kits. These optimized kits offer users the option of getting the high speeds and high capacities needed for their demanding gaming PC and Vista-Upgraded desktops in a unique 4 x 1024MB solution.


For enthusiasts, gamers, and DIY system-builders using Windows® Vista™ as their choice operating system and who need the performance of high-speed memory, the new PC2-6400 4GB Quad Kits are the ideal upgrade to increase your system responsiveness.

“Filling up the system memory to the fullest limitation of any 32-bit operating system enables the most efficient way of computing by granting the processor and graphics units almost unlimited access to vital data,” commented Dr. Michael Schuette, VP of Technology Development at OCZ Technology Group. “By distributing the physical memory space over four discrete modules, the new OCZ Platinum and Gold Quad kits add optimal power and thermal distribution to provide high capacities in a superbly stable overclocking configuration, to unleash the ultimate performance of 4GB of RAM.”

"Lightspeed Research surveyed 39,000 people on its U.S. online panel in the days following the launch of the device on June 29-- and the research findings are staggering."

"The nonprofit that aims to seed the developing world with inexpensive laptop computers for schoolchildren has made peace with Intel Corp., the project's most powerful rival.

The One Laptop Per Child program and Intel said Friday that the chip maker would join the board of the nonprofit and contribute funding."

"Apple is preparing to launch a next-generation video iPod in August that features a touch-screen panel similar to the iPhone, according to DigiTimes."

"The Google search proved fruitful for the two burglars, as they were able to get the information they needed and walk away with $12,000 in cash as well as a PlayStation and a laptop. And despite their inept attempts to outwit the security cameras, they have not yet been arrested."

Effectively immediately, the price of the PS3 has been dropped to $500 for the 60GB unit, and a $600 80GB model bundled with Motorstorm is coming this August. Pricing is for North America only.