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Aluminum Case for iPod Nano 4th (Black)

November 30th, 2008 by Kristofer

Aluminum Case for iPod Nano 4th (Black)

So I figured why not make it three in row of iPod nano cases reviewed, sounds good to me anyway…

The last two iPod nano cases I reviewed were plastic, today I’ve got an aluminum one that offers sort of a bit more protection for your iPod. The Aluminum housing of course is a bit more durable than plastic, but it doesn’t include a screen protector, you’ll have to provide one of those yourself, or just deal with it. The case is padded on the inside though so it should protect the nano from the shock of being dropped, and of course the padding protects the nano of being scratched by the metal housing.

So read on…

http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10505&Itemid=1

Category: Product Reviews | No Comments »

ICY DOCK EZ-DOCK 2.5”/3.5” SATA to eSATA & USB HDD Docking Station Enclosure for Mac & PC @ TestFreaks.com

November 30th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: ICY DOCK EZ-DOCK 2.5”/3.5” SATA to eSATA & USB HDD Docking Station Enclosure for Mac & PC @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/icy-dock-ez-dock-2535-sata-to-esata-usb-hdd-docking-station-enclosure-for-mac-pc/

Review Snipit:
“Today for review I’ve got a rather cool product from IcyDock that is sort of a hard drive enclosure but not really, it’s called the EZ-Dock and  as it’s name implies it’s more of a dock than an enclosure. The Ez-Dock allows you to use either 2.5″ or 3.5″ SATA hard drives with it in a small docking station that is removable from the base so you can take it with you if need be. It is though, and enclosure of sorts in that it comes with a carrying case so you can dock a 2.5″ drive, put it in the carrying case and take it with you. “

Category: Product Reviews | No Comments »

New for November 30th 2008 - Sunday - 25 days till Xmas

November 30th, 2008 by Kristofer

NEW CONTENT (CPU & Chipset) - Core i7 920 Core Disabling Performance Analysis

QUOTE: “So, while I was there pondering around with the options, I wondered what would happen if we started disabling cores. How would that affect 3D performance? What I really wanted to know is how many cores we really need; one, two, three or four? – Sure, there have been articles that compare a dual core based Core 2 processor to a quad core one, but what happens if the only difference between every CPU configuration is the amount of cores while FSB, speed and memory settings are all the same?

With that in mind, cores started dropping quicker than flies on a 40c day in Australia and the benchmarks came a’flowing. I can tell you right now, the results were very interesting. So without further ado, let’s get straight into the benchmarks to find out how many cores we really need for today’s games.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1669/core_i7_920_core_disabling_performance_analysis/index.html

Best Regards,

The TweakTown Team
http://www.tweaktown.com

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NZXT Rogue Small Form Factor Computer Case Review:

Link: http://www.rbmods.com/Articles/Nzxt/Rogue_sff/1.php


Quote: Most computer cases nowadays are suffering from a size problem; they seem to be getting bigger and bigger as people find more stuff to put inside them. But what if you’re looking for a case that is easily portable and takes up less space under your desk? NZXT, makers of a wide range of computer products, offers such a case, the NZXT Rogue Small Form Factor Computer Case. Will this case steal the show? Read on to find out.

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The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 DVD Review @ Ascully.com

Quote

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants came out years ago, featuring three young girls who were brought together over a pair of jeans that magically fit all three of them, but also looked great on each.  The three best friends formed a sort of group by which the pants were passed around, and their “magic” would bring good fortune to each. Now, three years later, the girls are all grown up, as each is in college.”

Article Link - http://www.ascully.com/?page_id=2309

Article Title - The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2 DVD Review @ Ascully.com

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InsideHW.com has posted article about Logitech V550 Nano wireless laser mouse for notebooks. You can read a clip from review:

“In a variety of interesting products from Logitech, our attention especially was driven by one not so long ago introduced Logitech V550 Nano wireless laser mouse for notebooks. Beside standard attributes for this mouse category, V550 Nano has few unusual characteristics that will make work easier to every notebook owner. You have for certain heard of Logitech Company so in this occasion we will skip usual introduction and we’ll go right to the point…”

If you are interested to read some more, we present you link:

http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Peripherals/Logitech-V550-Nano.html

Title:

Logitech V550 Nano @ InsideHW

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Winston: Hi Neil, how are you? Welcome to CPU3D. This is where all the action happens !!

Neil: Hi Winston, I’m fine thanks … So, this is where you guys do all your work. It’s like an Aladdin’s Cave! Oh … I can see that you’re using our Dominator Tri Channel modules on the Gigabyte GA-EX58 Extreme motherboard. Well done!

Read the rest of the article here … http://www.cpu3d.com/article/6678-1/cpu3d-exclusive-interview-with-corsair/introduction.html

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TechwareLabs has published a review of the Antec Three Hundred Case. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: Looking for a good case that is cheap, roomy, looks good, and has plenty of cooling. The Antec Three Hundred may be perfect for your rig. The quiet and yet well engineered case comes with plenty of features that you might find surprising. Read our review to find out more.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cases/Antec-Three-Hundred

Title: Antec Three Hundred Case @ TechwareLabs

Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Interview with Jon “Whoopty” Martindale of XSReviews and TechSeed @ TestFreaks.com

November 29th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Interview with Jon “Whoopty” Martindale of XSReviews and TechSeed @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/interview/interview-with-jon-whoopty-martindale-of-xsreviews-and-techseed/

Review Snipit:
“Today I’ve got an interview with Jon “Whoopty” Martindale, owner of XSReviews.co.uk and TechSeed.co.uk. Jon recently started TechSeed and it’s a cool little site that links to and lets users know about review sites and their content by basically indexing them, but I’m sure Jon can explain it better than I can, so read on to learn more about Jon and his sites… “

Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Razer Piranha Gaming Communicator @ TestFreaks.com

November 29th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Razer Piranha Gaming Communicator @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/razer-piranha-gaming-communicator/

Review Snipit:
“Razer is the well known peripheral maker of gaming keyboards, mice and more. Today we will look at one of their audio products – the Razer Piranha. This is a gaming communicator which means it features both headphones and a microphone for in game communication. The Razer Piranha includes a noise canceling microphone which allows the gamer to be heard clearly in crowded gaming environments such as LAN parties. “

Category: Product Reviews | No Comments »

News for Saturday November 29th 2008 - Saturday?!

November 29th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: NZXT Alpha Case Review on Technic3D

Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-758,1-nzxt-alpha-alpha-tier-der-einsteigerklasse.htm

Quote: “The NZXT Alpha is the next PC Case in the Technic3D Editorship. This mainstream chassis is designed for value without sacrificing performance. The Alpha features a steel chassis and support for up to three 120mm fans when the optional side panel is included. Installed with the E-SATA port, the Alpha is ideal for both mainstream and power users? See you in the following Review which qualities and Features the  Tower  presents for a small Price.”

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I4U News published a review of the ultimate fun toy for the office: the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 Machine Gun. I guess they are only allowed in Silicon Valley Start-ups. Of course it is fun for kids too.

Quote from the review:
“Today we are checking out the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan EBF-25 machine gun. This is a fully automatic beast of a Nerf shooter that anyone who has played Nerf wars will want.
If you want to feel really badass, or your kids want the baddest weapon in the Nerf arsenal, this is the ticket. Read on for all the details on the Nerf Vulcan machine Gun.”

Full Review:
http://www.i4u.com/full-review-510.html

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Title: Steam Client For Linux Confirmed @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=13183
Summary: “Earlier this year we shared that Valve’s Source Engine is coming to Linux after receiving some information that pointed in this direction. In addition, a year ago Valve Software was publicly looking for a senior software engineer to port Windows-based games to Linux platform. There have long been rumors and hopes among Linux users that Steam games would become natively available for Linux, but we have additional confirmation that Valve Software has ported their Steam game client to Linux. In Valve’s most recent title, Left 4 Dead, there are shared Linux libraries shipping alongside this Windows game client.”

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Left 4 Dead - PC Review

Date: 11-28-2008 By Vlad Mihaiescu

I’m a zombie lover (and before any jokes start flying around I’m not talking about necrophilia); what I mean is that I own most zombie movies made and if there was an Armageddon and I had a vote I would most definitely cast my vote for the zombie holocaust and even then I could not get myself to like this game. Left 4 Dead really is a no-brainer and I don’t mean that as a clever compliment for a zombie game. Because of the lack of thought and creativity behind the project I almost think that zombies designed this game. After two hours of gameplay all I wanted was for zombies to eat me so I would not have to suffer through the game anymore. And this is coming from someone who can watch Dawn of the Dead back to back. But I guess you have to make your own decision.

Link: http://www.gamepyre.com/reviewsd.html?aid=1037&p=1

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Title: Nova Slider X600 Review @ XSReviews

Review Link: http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/peripherals/nova-slider-x600/


Quote: Recently we were fortunate enough to get a look at a new company on the gaming peripheral scene, Roccat with their Kone mouse. Today we have another, this one from Nova and it’s called their X600. It’s got an interesting design, and eye catching packaging, but can it perform?”

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Title: Sapphire HD 4830 Graphics Card at Modders-Inc.com

Summary: I have to say that the card performed above my expectations. I played Call of Duty 4 for roughly 3 hours straight and the card maintained a good frame rate throughout each map. I estimate my frames to average out between the mid 90s to the mid 130s, sometimes hitting a lot higher depending on the location in the map of course.

Articles URL: http://www.modders-inc.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=245

Site URL:  http://www.modders-inc.com

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Quote: “The Firehawk WebSuite is an optimized stack of Apache, MySQL and PHP. Our goal is to provide a high performance, easy-to-deploy and stable web server environment under the Microsoft Windows operation systems. While the original developers are officially supporting Windows, webmasters and web developers have to deal with many problems such as installation issues, poor performance, compatibility and poor stability. Firehawk WebSuite is the solution! Webmasters and web developers can now run heavily loaded websites on Microsoft Windows-based servers.

Installing Apache, MySQL and PHP on Windows can be a serious pain in the ass. You have to edit many configuration files and find workarounds to the known compatibility issues just to get it to work without a hitch or undocumented errors. With Firehawk WebSuite, you can get it all running in only a few seconds without the need of editing configuration files or looking for workarounds. In addition, The Firehawk WebSuite includes Alternative PHP Cache and tweaked configuration files for maximum performance and stability.”

Link: http://www.ngohq.com/home.php?page=firehawk

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Title: KeyScan KS810 Keyboard-Scanner Review
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/662
Category: Reviews

Summary:
The convergence between a keyboard and a scanner gives birth to this singular product. Is it a good option to have them on the same device? Let’s see.

Here is a snippet:
“Convergence is the cornerstone of modern technology. We have monitors with integrated webcams, cellphones that function as PDAs and digital cameras, and biometric mice. Following that lead, the Canadian company KeyScan is releasing the KS810, a keyboard with an integrated scanner. Since is a sheet-feed scanner (just like a fax machine) it isn’t suited for digitalizing books or magazines; the KS810 only scans loose sheet, photos, flyers, business cards etc. If that meets the user’s necessities then the hybrid can solve problems like lacking table space for a regular scanner. Let’s examine the KS810 and its installation process and then check out its scanning capabilities.”

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Quote: Fancy winning an OCZ 6GB Triple Channel memory kit? All you need to do is enter OC3D’s latest poll.

Link: http://www.overclock3d.net/articles.php?/misc_content/win_an_ocz_ddr3_triple_channel_memory_kit_with_ocz_and_intel_core_i7/1

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“… Although Tsunami have made some efforts in improving their products … they fall behind against the better and more established PSU brands. Performance is adequate for most low end/budget users … but I wouldn’t recommended it for anyone else. … Overall the PSU unit itself is rock solid its just a shame the wires and lack of accessories let it down.”

Read the rest of the review here … http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6665-1/tsunami-power-on-585w-power-supply/introduction.html

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Category: Everything and Anything, Product Reviews | No Comments »

Black Friday Deals!

November 28th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Black Friday Deals!

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/information/black-friday-deals/

Review Snipit:
“It’s Black Friday, the supposed biggest shopping day of the year, and I’ve checked around and collected some great deals for you. Personally I won’t be leaving my house today, I much prefer shopping online, and I was reading an article recently that many consumers are just like me as well, Cyber Monday, as it’s called, is just as big as Black Friday now.

So read on, I’ve linked to the sites and their deals, along with listing a few that stand out as ‘must-haves’ or ‘great buys’ for this holiday season. “

Category: Shopping | No Comments »

Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman Cell phone @ TestFreaks.com

November 28th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman Cell phone @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/sony-ericsson-w760i-walkman-cell-phone/

Review Snipit:
“Today I’ve got the Sony Ericsson W760i Walkman Cell Phone and it’s just packed with features, it’s so much more than a phone really. The W760i is near perfect really, in my time with it I grew to like it very much, honestly I didn’t want to give it back, but I had to, that’s just how it works. I think if the W760i had a full keyboard it would be the perfect phone for me really, it has everything I like in a phone, excellent call quality, GPS, it’s easy to use and it’s just packed with features. “

Category: Shopping | No Comments »

News for November 28th 2008 - Black Friday Edition!

November 28th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: LC Power LC6420 420W PSU Review on Technic3D (Office PC Part2)

Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-760,1-lc-power-lc6420-420w-netzteile-fuer-den-office-pc-teil-2.htm

Quote: “The LC Power LC6420 420W PSU arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the next PSU Review with a good price. Make the 120mm fan, 6xSerial ATA connectors and 1x PCIe 6-Pin this PSU better than other PSUs for Office PCs?”

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Article Name: Samsung PN50A650 650 Series 50 Inch 1080P Plasma TV Review @ Tweaknews.net
Article Url: http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/samsung_pn50a650_50_inch_1080p_plasma_tv/

Article Snippet:

“To sum this TV up, the picture quality for a mid-range TV is amazing, the connection choices can be compared to a HD buffet and the icing on the 1080p cake is that this is a great looking TV that looks a lot more expensive than its price tag.”

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Title: Samsung SCX-4500 Multi-function Printer

Hi guys, here’s our review of this combined scanner and mono laser printer from Samsung.

http://accelenation.com/?ac.id.279.1

And here’s a quote:


Samsung’s latest entry into the multi-function market is a sleek, piano black device that combines a scanner with a mono laser printer. But does this unit perform as well as it looks?

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The Sapphire 770 is built on an all black PCB with decent passive cooling heatsinks on the northbridge and southbridge chips and on the MOSFETs which should help keep things cool when overclocking and help achieve better speeds.

Full Article:
http://www.tbreak.com/articles/21/1/Sapphire-770-PURE-CrossFireX/Page1.html

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TITLE: ASUS Radeon HD 4830 Video Card EAH4830 @ Benchmark Reviews

DESCRIPTION: After a rather disappointing HD 3000 series, ATI took the world by surprise with the HD 4000 generation of graphics cards. Since the launch of the HD 4000 series back in June, ATI has reclaimed its presence in the market and has been steadily eating away at Nvida’s marketshare. Benchmark Reviews has had the opportunity to review several cards from the HD 4800 series lineup and today we look at one of the newest additions to the family: the Radeon HD 4830. This particular model, the EAH4830, comes to us from Asus and sports a custom cooler design and factory overclocked memory. We’ll put it through its paces and find out how it compares to its two closest siblings; the HD 4670 and the HD 4850.

ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=255&Itemid=72

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InsideHW.com has posted article about HP Compaq 6735s notebook. You can read a clip from review:

“If you look for familiar brand name when searching for your new notebook then HP will place itself on top of that list. If you don’t have large budget then you will most certainly look for models from “S” class and most probably it will be based on AMD platform. Notebook that satisfies all those characteristics came to our test lab and we are presenting to you: HP Compaq 6735s…”

If you are interested to read some more, we present you link:

http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Notebooks/HP-Compaq-6735s.html

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Title:
Future Sonics Atrio In-ears

Link:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Future_Sonics/Atrio

Brief:
Future Sonics is a brand that produces some very unique in-ears. In this review we will be taking a look at their universal fit in-ears dubbed Atrio. Future Sonics emphasizes their strong bass performance - of course we put this to the test amongst other things in the review.

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No-name brand PSUs vs Known Brands: MAD testing

“We were invited to visit Cooler Master´s brand new power supply testing setup, a very high end installation build to deliver up to 1200W and higher load to any PSU hooked up to the system. We bought some cheap PSU units from local Belgium stores to see how they would measure up when stressed to their rated wattage… read on to find out about the carnage.”

http://www.madshrimps.be/gotoartik.php?articID=889

Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Crystal Case for iPod Nano 4th Gen

November 27th, 2008 by Kristofer

Crystal Case for iPod Nano 4th Gen

Happy Thanksgiving! We’ve got two reviews for you today, call it a bonus for Turkey Day!

The second review today is the Crystal Case for iPod Nano 4th Gen from our friends at USBFever, it’s inexpensive, fully protects your iPod and even looks good.

So continue on..

http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10474&Itemid=1

Category: Product Reviews | No Comments »

ATV Flash Reviewed

November 27th, 2008 by Kristofer

ATV Flash Reviewed

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there, have a safe and wonderful holiday!

AppleTV was released over a year and half ago and has been a moderate success.  It is a device with great potential, unfortunately most of that is left untapped due to Apple’s desire to maintain strict control over content.  Apple limited the devices playback to certain video formats: H.264 and MPEG-4.  Most techies that I know have videos encoded in more than just these two formats.  This restriction has a significant impact on AppleTV’s appeal.

Shortly after Apple TV was released, the hacker community started on making it better.  Since that time, the hacking community has accessed the operating system, enabled playback of most video formats, allowed DVD playback, installation of Firefox, Skype and EyeTV and much, much more.  These “new” features make the Apple TV much more attractive as a digital media receiver.

So how do we add these “features” to the Apple TV?  One way is to scour the net for resources, download the proper files and then get them loaded onto the Apple TV.  Sounds pretty easy, right?  Trust me, this method takes a fair amount of time and effort.  Now what if someone did all the legwork for you and put it in a precompiled package?  Well, Apple Core LLC did exactly that.  They created ATV Flash, which is an installer program that opens up the OS X operating system within the Apple TV box with a simple USB thumb drive.

Today we will look at this program and see if it is worth the price.  Let’s get started….

http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10453&Itemid=1

Category: Everything and Anything, Product Reviews | No Comments »

News for November 27th 2008 - Thanksgiving!

November 27th, 2008 by Kristofer

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

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I4U NEWS published the Top 100 Holiday Tech Gift Guide 2008.

Quote from the review:
“On August 19th we set out to start our Top 100 Holiday Gift Guide with one Tech Gift Idea per day. Now 100 days later we have arrived and the Top 100 Gift Guide is completed in time for the biggest sales of the year.
Find out what the hottest gifts for this Holiday shopping season are across 10 categories. Find out for instance which smartphone is ideal for whom and why or what we think the best HDTVs and robots are.”

Full Guide:
http://www.i4u.com/article21973.html

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“The ASRock G43Twin-FullHD motherboard is a very good all-rounder. It’s great for any HTPC user or even a system builder. It competes very well against others in its class, easily matching the performance and features of the Gigabyte G43. What I do like about the ASRock G43Twin-FullHD, is that it supports both DDR2 and DDR3 ram, as well as a daughter card with DVI and Display Port.”

Read the rest of the review here … http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6271-1/asrock-g43twins-fullhd-motherboard/introduction.html

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iXBT Labs Review: Foxconn A7DA-S Motherboard

Excerpt:
“This motherboard produces a strong positive impression both in terms of functionality and technical level. In fact, Foxconn hasn’t had any problems with product quality for a long time already. But BIOS versions and some minor features often indicated that the company used to be manufacturing third-party designs for other brands. Now we can say that it’s a very interesting motherboard. If there’s enough of these boards in stock and its price is at least similar as that of competing products, it will certainly become very popular.”

Article: http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/mainboard/foxconn-a7da-s-790gx-p1.html

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Article Name: Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player Review @ Tweaknews.net
Article Url: http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/samsung_bd-p1500_blu-ray_player_review/

Article Snippet:

“When the dust is settled and the Blu-ray movies are put away, the BD-P1500 is a very capable BD player that has the “out of the box” functionality to be easily inserted or included into any recent home theater system. The picture quality was excellent and the audio playback was exceptionally clear.”

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On paper the W980 Walkman Phone ticks most boxes and is a fantastic piece of gadgetry: it is beautifully finished with cool lights that flash all over the place, offers stylish touch-sensitive buttons, and even has a full 8GB of onboard memory. But it’s only when you use the phone for a few days that its unintuitiveness becomes apparent. Most annoying are the tiny call start and end buttons, along with the even smaller menu, shortcut and cancel buttons. You’re never entirely sure which button to press when navigating menus either, and navigating the contacts menu isn’t as quick as you’d expect. Usability issues aside, those after a phone that doubles as an excellent quality music player with more than enough storage space and a sufficiently well-designed media manager should consider the W980. If your priority is a phone - in particular voice, messaging and contacts management - you may soon become frustrated with the W980.”

http://www.itreviewed.co.uk/rev.php?id=865

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Tropic Thunder Blu-Ray & DVD Review @ Ascully.com

Quote

“We are introduced to four of the lead characters through these mock movie trailers. They are four of the main Hollywood food groups. 1. A rowdy actor who does low common denominator comedies and who has a serious drug habit. 2. An actor who takes every role so seriously he “lives” each part, and is the bad boy type in real life. 3.) An muscle bound action movie hero star who has fallen from grace by doing too many sequels and who has an ego the size of Montana. 4.) The rap dude from the commercial, young, obnoxious, and seemingly shallow and full of himself.”

Article Link - http://www.ascully.com/?page_id=2313

Podcast Link - http://www.ascully.com/?p=2314

Article Title - Tropic Thunder Blu-Ray & DVD Review @ Ascully.com

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The Holliday season is in full force with a gazillion titles coming out. You can expect the writers at [OC]ModShop to be attempting reviews on every single one. Today I don?t want to discuss news, rather, I just figured I?d bring up a few games fresh in my mind.

And yes, most of these are RPGs, I realized that when I finished this article.

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1413

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Title: Revoltec LightMouse Precision 2 Wireless Review on Technic3D

Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-750,1-revoltec-lightmouse-precision-2-wireless-im-test.htm

Quote: “The Revoltec LightMouse Precision 2 Wireless arrived Technic3D.
The Revoltec LightMouse Precision II Wireless offers a scanning rate of up to 1600 dpi. A freely definable key can be defined as a dpi switch with the help of the software that is provided. The scanning process can be set to either 800 or 1600 dpi. By using Teflon glide feet the Lightmouse Precision 2 reaches a better gliding performance. Due to the 2.4 GHz Wireless Technology the Revoltec LightMouse Precision 2 Wireless offers a secure wireless connection. More you can see in the following Review on Technic3D.”

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NEW CONTENT (Memory) - Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 Memory Kit

QUOTE: “With Core i7 now officially on the market for sale, it wasn’t going to be long before boards and memory came out to support it. In fact, boards were on the shelves even before the CPU was officially launched on the Intel site. Memory kits are now starting to show themselves on the market as well, with companies announcing new kits just about every day.

Today we have Corsair’s Dominator triple-channel memory kit aimed at the Core i7 range with three DDR3 memory modules designed for 1600MHz at the rated 1.65v max that Intel recommends for the Core i7. How will it perform? Let’s find out.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1668/corsair_dominator_1600mhz_triple_channel_ddr3_memory_kit/index.html

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Hardware Bistro has just posted latest review; Vizo Armada II Memory Cooler. Thanks

Quote: “Are you having stability issue of your PC? If yes then one of the hardware reasons could be overheating issue. Today we are going to take a look on a memory cooler; Armada II. Armada II is a latest memory cooler from Vizo for desktop which comes with dual blue LED fans and support all kind of desktop memory like DDR, DDR2, DDR3 and etc.”


Read More:
http://hardwarebistro.com/index.php?option=com_simple_review&Itemid=84&review=29-Vizo-Armada-II-Memory-Cooler-Review

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Title: Gigabyte EX58-UD5 @ Techgage

Link: http://techgage.com/article/gigabyte_ex58-ud5/

Quote: Our X58 motherboard coverage continues with a look at Gigabyte’s EX58-UD5, an offering that’s competing with all the other $300 launch boards out there. Though still expensive, there’s a lot being offered here, including a plethora of USB and S-ATA ports, solid design, support for 3-way GPU configurations and a nice top overclock.

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* Title: Lenovo customer service hell, as you’ve heard @ APH Networks

* Description: A few weeks ago, I ordered a Lenovo T400 laptop — and from
what I had read, it was one of the best laptops in the market. With excellent
battery life (9+ hours with a 9-cell, switchable integrated/dedicated on
specific models, and LED screen), generally excellent reputation for ThinkPad
laptop’s excellent reliability, it was really hard to resist this purchase –
considering the fact that my Dell Inspiron 6400 recently died. The Lenovo
T-series’ features, performance, weight, you name it — are as perfect as a
laptop would be. The funny thing is, many of these customer service articles
that I’ve been writing here on APH Networks started off with a couple
negative reviews, balanced with another handful of positive ones from
manufacturers such as BenQ, NEC, and Shaw Cable. And then it all stopped,
with the amount of reviews that we’ve been putting out every week for the
last couple years. Well, while I’ll still write this week’s review
(Hopefully!) despite spending time to write this article, here’s a new one
for you: and right off the bat, I hate to say it but — it’s more than
negative. To clarify, I’m not trying to “get back” at Lenovo or anything, but
for accurate consumer reference only — and be as objective as possible.
After all, Lenovo’s laptops are attractive, that’s why I bought one. Hello,
my first impression of Lenovo.

* Link:
http://aphnetworks.com/reports/lenovo_customer_service_hell_as_youve_heard

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Title: Samsung LN55A950 LCD TV Review at Overclockers Online
Link: http://www.overclockersonline.net/index.php?page=articles&num=2201
Quote: I’ve held onto the Samsung LN55A950 for over 2 months and every
second I sit down in front of it, I’m blown away by its performance. I’ll
end up re-watching some show or movie in HD and notice details that I missed
before.  The LN55A950 is certainly not for everyone as it holds a high price
tag, but those who want the best shouldn’t settle for anything less. Imagine
the nothing less than the best, imagine the A950 in your home.

——————————————

The Pyroblazer demo can be downloaded from the link below. it is free for upload and distribution.


www.eipix.com/Media/PyroBlazerDemos/Pyroblazer_Demo_Setup.exe

———————————————————————————

Title: Zalman ZM750-HP Power Supply Review
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/661
Category: Reviews

Summary:
ZM750-HP is a 750 W power supply from Zalman featuring a modular cabling system and a heat-pipe-based heatsink to cool down the secondary rectifiers. Let’s see if this unit survives our tests.

Here is a snippet:
“ZM750-HP is a 750 W power supply from Zalman featuring a modular cabling system, a 120-mm fan and a heat-pipe-based heatsink to cool down the secondary rectifiers. We had already reviewed the 600 W model from this series, ZM600-HP, and liked it a lot. Let’s see if the 750 W model is also great.”

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Today, we take a step back from Intel’s new Core i7 to look at one of the motherboards from Gigabyte’s new Ultra Durable 3 line, the EP45-UD3P.  As its name suggests, this board is based on the current mainstream chipset offering from Intel, the P45 Express.  Although we’ve covered this ground before, most recently with our look at two recent offerings from MSI, it’s helpful to remember that the P45 is closely related to the X48 Express with support for Core 2 Duo and Quad processors as well as DDR2 or DDR3 RAM.  What that means for most people is that the EP45-UD3P, as well as other P45 boards, makes for a great upgrade without breaking the bank.

Direct Link:

http://hothardware.com/Articles/Gigabyte-GAEP45UD3P-Ultra-Durable-3-Motherboard/

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Ace Mouse MLUC100 Laser 1600D Review:

Link: http://www.rbmods.com/Articles/Ace/Mluc100/1.php


Quote: Today we are taking a look at the Ace MLUC100 mouse from Ace. This seems to be a fairly new company on the market but they seem to aim their market on the gamers with high quality products. Lets see what type of mouse they have released for gamers and also check out how it performs.

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“The Tsunami e-DATA 3500 NAS BT enclosure will appeal to a lot of SOHO users. It’s the price and features that will make it attractive. The build quality wasn’t as bad as I thought, it’s easy to install and configure … what’s more, it can be used as a standalone external hard drive or a portable NAS device. It supports File-Sharing, FTP and Bit-Torrent services … a great little portable NAS solution that’s extremely affordable.”

Read the rest of the review here … http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6644-1/tsunami-e-data-3500-nas-bt-enclosure/introduction.html

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TechwareLabs has published a review of the SuperTalent Pico Drive Gold. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: Looking for more than just a flash drive? How about a drive with a bit of bling added in? William takes a look at the Super Talent Pico Drive Gold which boasts not only a tiny size but flash with dazzle for your storage needs.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/storage/Pico-Drive-Gold

Title: SuperTalent Pico Drive Gold @ TechwareLabs

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Title: Patriot Memory Viper series 4gb kit DDR2-1066Mhz Review @ FusionMods.Net

Link: http://www.fusionmods.net/index.php?theCase=viewThread&threadID=1784

Quote: “Good ram can be found anywhere, but you need quality ram to make a modder and overclocker happy, and today, Patriot Memory has done just that with their Viper series.  With the 1066Mhz speed, and dual channel 2gb sticks, this ram will surely make your system load times better.”

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* Title: Patriot Extreme Performance PC3-14400 2×1GB DDR3 RAM @ APH Networks

* Description: When DDR3 RAM was first introduced to the public in 2007, it
did not seem to be able to capture much of the consumer and enthusiast market
alike. Well, at least that was what the forums I frequented indicated to me.
Every time a person mentioned ‘DDR3′ in their ‘I want to build a new
computer’ thread, the first reply by some enthusiast would be to suggest the
user to get a DDR2 based motherboard and corresponding RAM kits instead.
There’s a good reason for this though, I won’t even try to deny it — when
DDR3 debuted in 2007, the asking price was at least $400-$600 for 2×1GB sets
– there was a very limited amount of people that would have been willing to
spend so much money on 2GB of RAM for <5% performance gain over its DDR2
counterparts. I’m not saying such people don’t exist, but as you will learn
in any microeconomics class, the demand shifts left as price increases. Fast
forward to November 2008 — now. DDR3 RAM is much more affordable now; and
with pretty much every manufacturer offering a complete range of
value-oriented models to high performance DDR3 kits, there must be one for
you, if you really wanted to jump to the DDR3 boat. Today, we’ll be taking a
look at Patriot’s Extreme Performance PC3-14400 2×1GB dual channel kit. Stock
specifications at DDR3-1800 at 8-8-8-20. It’s certainly isn’t the best we’ve
seen so far. But here’s one thing to note: How much do stock settings matter
with Micron’s excellent D9GTS DDR3 chips used in this set? (Read:
Overclocking!) We’ll find out for you today in this review. Also, pretty much
all photos in this review is ‘Photoshop-enhanced’ for your viewing pleasure.
Haha.

* Link:
http://aphnetworks.com/reviews/patriot_extreme_performance_pc3_14400_2×1gb

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Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Interview with Doug Smith of TiltMobilty / FuzeMobility @ TestFreaks.com

November 26th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Interview with Doug Smith of TiltMobilty / FuzeMobility @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/interview/interview-with-doug-smith-of-tiltmobilty-fuzemobility/

Review Snipit:
” Ok, continuing our series of interviews, I’ve got Doug Smith the owner of TiltMobilty.com and FuzeMobility.com. I actually know Doug personally, as I write for his sites whenever I get some spare time, and I’ve come to find he’s an all around great guy with a passion for cell phones and all things mobility that borders on obsessive. That’s a good thing though, as he knows quite a bit about them and likes to share his information and knowledge with others. “

Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

OutCast - The Ultimate Outdoor Wireless Speaker @ TestFreaks.com

November 26th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: OutCast - The Ultimate Outdoor Wireless Speaker @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/outcast-the-ultimate-outdoor-wireless-speaker/

Review Snipit:
“Today I’ve got an unusual product for review it’s a speaker, but not in the traditional way, this thing can be set on fire and even run through a carwash and still work great. The product is the OutCast from SoundCast Systems and it’s a wireless portable speaker system that comes with a transmitter called the iCast with a built in iPod dock. One nice thing though is that is can accept most any audio source, at the transmitter or at the OutCast unit itself. It is a bit on the large side, in both price and weight, but overall it’s a very unique product that works perfectly, sounds excellent and is just really cool… “

Category: Product Reviews | No Comments »

News for Nomember 26th 2008 - Day before TDay Edition!

November 26th, 2008 by Kristofer

One more day to go before TDay!

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Title: NZXT Whisper Review @ FusionMods.Net

Link: http://www.fusionmods.net/index.php?theCase=viewThread&threadID=1783

Quote: “The Whisper comes with a near tool-less design, extreme efforts placed on noise reduction, and a very solid functional build, Everything you`d need to build you`re next rig.”

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TitleSilverstone Fortress FT01 Mid-Tower Chassis Review

Summary: A couple of years ago Silverstone created a uni-body PC chassis, the Temjin TJ07. The TJ07 case is still one of the best looking cases from Silverstone to date. In an attempt to expand on that design Silverstone has decided to create a new line of chassis, the Fortress series. The Silverstone Fortress FT01 is the first chassis in that product line, which utilizes the same uni-body design as the TJ07. It also brings several great features to the table, so come on in and see what we have to say about it.

Articles URL: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=121

Site URL: http://www.jonnyguru.com

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In Far Cry 2, the new first person shooter from Ubisoft players get immersed into an open world environment that is utterly beautiful as it is deadly.

As the game opens, players select the character they wish to play and are treated to a lavish visual presentation that sets up the game. It is learned that the player has been sent in to kill an individual who has been setting up war in the region by supplying weapons.
No sooner does the player arrive when he realizes something is not right, as Malaria leaves them wracked and helpless, as their target gloats over them.

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1416

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Can’t afford a decent setup for your gaming PC? Sapphire brings you the PI-AM2RS780G, a PURE Hybrid CrossFire 780G motherboard to setup a hybrid crossfire system for a decent gaming experience.

http://www.tbreak.com/articles/20/1/Sapphire-780G-Hybrid-CrossFire/Page1.html

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TechwareLabs has published a review of the Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA HDD. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: While Western Digital doesn’t market the 1TB Green drive as a performance drive its actual performance might suprise you. Could this “Green” drive be your next good performance drive at a reasonable cost? We think so, and to find out why read our review.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/storage/WD-Green-1TB

Title: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA HDD @ TechwareLabs

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Quote: Cooler Master has revived the much loved ATCS range and we were given the chance to take the ATCS 840 for a testdrive.

Link: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviewsphp?/cases_cooling/cooler_master_atcs_840_aluminium_atx_case/1

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Recently I had the chance to speak with Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer, Cryptic Studios about the pending Star Trek Online MMOPG. I had done an interview for the game a few years ago that was picked up by PC Gamer when the game was first in development at another studio, and I want to thank Craig, Danitra, and Jerry for setting up this interview.

GVK: How did the idea for the game come about and what can you tell us about what has changed since you obtained the game from Perpetual?

Review URL ::
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1417

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iXBT Labs Review: RADEON HD 4850 / 4870 from Palit and PowerColor

Excerpt:
“In the light of the recent new revision of GeForce GTX 260 with more processors, the star of RADEON HD 4870 has started to fade away. Indeed, the GTX 260 sometimes outscores its competitor in our tests, and only increased frequencies may help RADEON HD 4870 stay the leader in its class. That, and, of course, the fact that AMD and partners can cut prices without losing much profits, while the price of GTX 260 might soon reach its manufacturing costs, as this card is very expensive to make.”

Article: http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/video/rv770-4-p1.html

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TechSpot Holiday Gift Guide 2008

http://www.techspot.com/guides/130-holiday-gift-guide-2008/

Only a few weeks now stand between you and that fateful morning of December 25th, but there’s still plenty of time to purchase and wrap your list of gifts. But perhaps you don’t even have a list yet! Well, if that’s the case and you have a family of tech-fiends, our buying guide might just be your savior.

The TechSpot holiday gift guide is not your standard catalog-esque gift guide but one directed toward those special silicon lovers. So, fathers, brothers, husbands and sons rejoice as you spread the word about this thoughtfully compiled list of technology toys, utilities and gadgets. Perhaps it will pay off this Christmas and you won’t be disappointed by that lovely pair of handwoven socks from your aunt.

Just like last year our recommendations have been arranged from least to most expensive. The breakdown looks like this:

* The basics      — Gifts less than $150
* Upping the ante — Gifts $150 to $300
* Taking it up a notch — Gifts $300 to $600
* Beyond gadgets  — Gifts more than $600

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* Title: Gas Mileage and Hypermiling: Everything You Need to Know About @ APH
Networks

* Description: “Hypermiling” or “to hypermile” is to attempt to maximize gas
mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s
driving techniques. Rather than aiming for good mileage or even great
mileage, hypermilers seek to push their gas tanks to the limit and achieve
hypermileage, exceeding EPA ratings for miles per gallon. Quoting Oxford, for
its Word of the Year 2008. If you’ve never been on APH before, yes, this is
an online technology publication — but yes, this is an article relating to a
driving practice that seems to have gained universal attention after insane
gas prices earlier this year. That said, gas prices has dropped significantly
for various reasons; mainly relating to the current economy. But lowering gas
prices did not stop me from making the most out of my tank of gas. I drive
daily to the train station, which would be around 25km round trip. The last
time I filled up was more than a month ago in my 2007 Honda Civic LX 5-speed
manual.

Living in Canada, gas prices do cost significantly more than USA. Looking at
it on the positive side, I gave my car slightly more expensive 87 octane gas
(And plans to over the next few months, to see what kind of difference it
makes) from a local Shell gas station instead of the usual
the-cheapest-I-can-find, as some research indicates that different brands of
gas may give better mileage. I’ll post more on this in just a moment.
Meanwhile, the bill came to $32 CAD. Not bad, not bad.

* Link:
http://aphnetworks.com/lounge/gas_mileage_and_hypermiling_everything_you...

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NEW CONTENT (Casing & Cooling) - IN WIN Commander Series 1200 watt Modular Power Supply

QUOTE: “For many of us old timers who have been playing with computers for a while, the name IN WIN conjures up images of system enclosures. It should since the company has been around since 1985 with their primary goal being the sales and marketing of their enclosure product line. Since that time they have expanded a bit and their lineup now includes enclosures, external hard drive enclosures and power supplies.

The target of today’s article is the new Commander Series of power supplies. These units are rated from 650 watts to 1500 watts of power output and consist of a total of five models, so you are assured of getting the power you will need for your own custom build. The Commander we will be testing today is one of the big boys, the 1200 watt Commander. We will delve into this new power supply and let you know what kind of features are included and what kind of power you can expect to be produced. After all, this is your money we’re talking about so we will want to make sure it is worth the expense.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1667/in_win_commander_series_1200_watt_modular_power_supply/index.html

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Title: NZXT Whisper Full-Tower @ Techgage

Link: http://techgage.com/article/nzxt_whisper_full-tower/

Quote: PC silence means more now than ever before. While we love to have powerful machines, we also want peace and quiet, and understandably so. NZXT recently released their Whisper full-tower that’s poised to deliver the best of both worlds. Can this huge chassis deliver the silence we’re looking for, along with the functionality?

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TITLE: OCZ Reaper OCZ2RPR10664GK DDR2 Memory Kit @ Benchmark Reviews

DESCRIPTION: With DDR3 getting all the attention lately it’s easy to overlook DDR2 performance memory. There are many very good reasons to consider DDR2 including but not limited to price and performance. Today Benchmark Reviews takes a look at at one potential price:performance hotshot; the OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1066 OCZ2RPR10664GK 4GB Memory Kit. Can it’s unique cooling solution and high speed specs be enough to sway you?

ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=245&Itemid=67

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InsideHW.com has posted article about Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 graphics card. You can read a clip from review:

“ATI continuously presents new models of graphics cards, using new GPU to the maximum and filling gaps in their product lineup. ATI solves every problem with simple solution that can be summarized something like this: What is better than HD 4850? Two HD 4850! Result is logical and now after Radeon HD 4870 X2 we got in our test lab HD 4850 X2 that should position in between HD 4870 and HD 4870 X2. Graphics card that we got is signed by Sapphire…”

If you are interested to read some more, we present you link:

http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Graphics-cards/Sapphire-Radeon-HD-4850-X2.html

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Title: SilverStone Decathlon 700 W Power Supply Review
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/659
Category: Reviews

Summary:
Decathlon 700 W is a power supply from SilverStone where all cables – including the main motherboard one – uses a modular system. Is this a good power supply? Let’s see.

Here is a snippet:
“Decathlon 700 W (a.k.a. DA700) from SilverStone features a full modular cabling system, where even the main motherboard cable is connected thru it, a very uncommon configuration (usually on power supplies with modular cabling system the main motherboard cable comes from inside the unit). This unit also features active PFC and a 120-mm fan, with the manufacturer saying it can deliver its labeled power at 50º C. Let’s see if this is true and if this unit is a good option.”

Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Patriot 64GB Xporter Magnum USB Flash Drive Reviewed @ TestFreaks.com

November 25th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Patriot 64GB Xporter Magnum USB Flash Drive Reviewed @ TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/patriot-64gb-xporter-magnum-usb-flash-drive/

Review Snipit:
“Today for review I’ve got a 64gb USB drive, the Patriot Xporter Magnum. There’s no doubt it’s got a lot of storage space, but the question of course is how fast is it compared to other drives? And, well I really can’t answer that question though because I have no other 64gb drives to compare it to, but I do have a whole bunch of others on hand for comparison, so I’ll do my best to show you how it compares to them. “

Category: Product Reviews | No Comments »

News for Tuesday November 25th 2008 - Almost Turkey Day Edition!

November 25th, 2008 by Kristofer

-Food…Food and more food.. Turkey day is almost here!!!!

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Digit-Life / iXBT Labs Review: Biostar TA790GX A2+ Motherboard

Excerpt:
“Motherboard examination brings us to a trivial conclusion: engineers fully implemented chipset functionality, having avoided all widespread drawbacks. So we can criticize the motherboard only for the lack of interesting addons, which might have marked it among its competitors.”

Article: http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/mainboard/biostar-ta790gx-a2plus-790gx-p1.html

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TechwareLabs has published a review of the Thermaltake Armor+ LCS. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: Today we take a look at one of the most feature rich chassis to come into TechwareLabs in a long time, the Thermaltake Armor+ LCS. The Armor+ LCS weighs in just shy of FIFTY pounds but it packs an equally heavy punch in features and cooling. Take a look why this case easily won our Editors Choice award and why we think it deserves a place in your home.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cases/Thermaltake_Armor+LCS

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It isn’t based on Intel’s latest, but if you’re looking to grab an “older” X48 but still don’t want to part with your DDRs, this board from Gigabyte may be for you.

The Gigabyte X48-DQ6 Motherboard is interesting not because it’s a X48 board, but because it’s a X48 with DDR2 support. The Gigabyte X48 board itself isn’t that cheap, but the cost of the platform should be less than other X48 motherboards since DDR2 is still al ittle cheaper than DDR3. That, or if you got a stock pile of DDR2, you don’t need to throw it out. From an engineering standpoint, this was also a no brainer since the X48-DQ6 design mirrors their own X38 board so a simple chipset swap was all they needed to do at a fab level.

http://www.viperlair.com/index.php/reviews/gigabyte-x48-dq6-motherboard.html

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I4U NEWS published a review of Impact7 Wi-Fi Digital Photo Frame.

Quote from the review:
“Today we are looking at a digital photo frame from eStarling called the Impact7. This frame has a low retail price of $99 and offers features like integrated Wi-Fi.
Wi-Fi is something you don’t often find on frames at this price. Thanks to Wi-Fi, the frame can get RSS feeds and images from social networking sites.”

Full Review:
http://www.i4u.com/full-review-509.html

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OCIA.net has posted their review of the SilverStone FT01 Midtower Chassis.  Below is a direct quote from the review:

Using a process never before seen in PC cases, the panel is then arched precisely on two sides with automotive-caliber press machines to create the top, front and bottom sides of the chassis. The end result is an aluminum chassis frame with more than twice the structural rigidity of average steel cases, helping to practically eliminate vibration-induced noise.
Direct Link:  http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ft01/page1.shtml
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NEW CONTENT (Digital Lounge) - Ten Ways To Improve The Blu-ray Movie Format

QUOTE: “As I write this, the Blu-ray market is starting to get some serious traction. Some really top tier releases are now coming out, which shows increased enthusiasm on the part of the studios. In addition, hardware makers have finally leapt over the Blu-ray specification grace period and we are seeing some extremely powerful software and very good prices. Blu-ray upgrades, including picture-in-picture enabled ‘profile 2’ have become standard, as has BD Live, Ethernet cable enabled players and finally bitstream and decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio.

However, as great as this is, there is still room for improvement on both the behalf of software and hardware manufacturers. Let’s take a look at ten improvements that can be made which would both improve the format and gain wider acceptance.”

For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1666/ten_ways_to_improve_the_blu_ray_movie_format/index.html

———————————————-

Title: OCZ Gladiator Max CPU Cooler Review at Overclockers Online
Link: http://www.overclockersonline.net/?page=articles&num=2191
Quote: The goal OCZ’s technicians had when developing this heatsink and fan
combo was to make it silent without sacrificing cooling performance, and
they managed to do just that. Regarding noise levels, I would have no
problem using the Gladiator Max in a HTPC or a workstation PC - the fan is
barely audible from a foot away, and is dead silent from a meter on.
Overall, the performance is perfect for lower voltage processors, but I’d
have second thoughts before popping this onto a quad-core system unless you
really value quiet operation. There you have it, OCZ’s “Gladiator Max” CPU
heatsink and fan.

———————————————

Red Alert 3 - PC Review

Date: 11-24-2008 By Vlad Mihaiescu

As I’ve said, EA has a lot of potential with their titles, but it seems that they do not want to put that extra bit of effort to turn their games into A quality. Unfortunately for EA this is not school; games are a 50 billion dollar a year business and if you’re going to compete in today’s market you better come up with some A quality products once in a while before Ubisoft ends up running you out of business.This is the case with Red Alert 3. It is a mediocre game; a game that had potential to be great. The movie and the acting is somewhat entertaining as is the rest of the game, but the keyword here is SOMEWHAT. If you like spending your money on “somewhat” then please go ahead and purchase this game, but if you actually value your hard-earned cash then you may want to look elsewhere for entertainment. If EA would have invested the money spend on the poster of army chicks dressed like hookers for the actual game, then maybe Red Alert 3 would have more merit, but sadly enough the poster is probably the best part of the game and that is really, really, really sad.

Link: http://www.gamepyre.com/reviewsd.html?aid=1035&p=1

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TweakPC has posted a new article.

Titel:
AMD 790GX comparison of 6 mainboards with benchmarks

Teaser:
DFI LP JR 790GX-M2RS, Foxconn A7DA-S, Jetway HA07-Ultra, Elitegroup ECS
A790GXM-A, Biostar TA790GX3 A2+ and ASRock AOD790GX/128M have to show their
performance in out roundup. Hey-ho, let’s go…

Link:
http://www.tweakpc.de/hardware/tests/mainboards/roundup/am2_amd_790gx/s01.php

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TechwareLabs has published a review of the Nexus Beamair. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: From the Funky Files comes the Beamair, a product we were left scratching our heads over.  Join Jason as we take a look at both the history of the honeycomb as well as the Beamair from Nexus. Will this stylish and sleek adapter direct air where you want it to go? Read on and find out.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cooling/nexus_beamair

Title: Nexus Beamair @ TechwareLabs

————————————————

* Title: Patriot Extreme Performance PC3-14400 2×1GB DDR3 RAM @ APH Networks

* Description: When DDR3 RAM was first introduced to the public in 2007, it
did not seem to be able to capture much of the consumer and enthusiast market
alike. Well, at least that was what the forums I frequented indicated to me.
Every time a person mentioned ‘DDR3′ in their ‘I want to build a new
computer’ thread, the first reply by some enthusiast would be to suggest the
user to get a DDR2 based motherboard and corresponding RAM kits instead.
There’s a good reason for this though, I won’t even try to deny it — when
DDR3 debuted in 2007, the asking price was at least $400-$600 for 2×1GB sets
– there was a very limited amount of people that would have been willing to
spend so much money on 2GB of RAM for <5% performance gain over its DDR2
counterparts. I’m not saying such people don’t exist, but as you will learn
in any microeconomics class, the demand shifts left as price increases. Fast
forward to November 2008 — now. DDR3 RAM is much more affordable now; and
with pretty much every manufacturer offering a complete range of
value-oriented models to high performance DDR3 kits, there must be one for
you, if you really wanted to jump to the DDR3 boat. Today, we’ll be taking a
look at Patriot’s Extreme Performance PC3-14400 2×1GB dual channel kit. Stock
specifications at DDR3-1800 at 8-8-8-20. It’s certainly isn’t the best we’ve
seen so far. But here’s one thing to note: How much do stock settings matter
with Micron’s excellent D9GTS DDR3 chips used in this set? (Read:
Overclocking!) We’ll find out for you today in this review. Also, pretty much
all photos in this review is ‘Photoshop-enhanced’ for your viewing pleasure.
Haha.

* Link:
http://aphnetworks.com/reviews/patriot_extreme_performance_pc3_14400_2×1gb

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Title: Ikonik Vulcan 1200W PSU Review on Technic3D

Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-779,1-ikonik-vulcan-1200w-netzteil-hoeher,-schneller,-weiter….htm

Quote: “The Ikonik Vulcan 1200W arrived Technic3D. See you in the following Review from Technic3D the next Big PSU with modular cable management, 140mm blue LED Fan, 4x 12V rails, 12x Serial ATA connectors and 6x PCI-e 6+2 Pin.”

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CaseCritics.com has just posted their review on the Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC Chassis

Quote
“See through cases have been around for a couple of years now. ClearPC Canada is a pretty big manufacturer of pre-assembled cases. But now SunbeamTech came through with their own variations of clear acrylic cases that you need to build yourself. You receive a bunch of parts and through the use of included tools and bits you create a computer casing. The case we are looking at today is especially designed to be used as a HTPC”

Direct Link - http://www.casecritics.com/2008/11/sunbeamtech-acrylic-htpc/

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Title2008 Supplementary PSU Roundup - Part 2

Summary: In part one of this roundup, I looked at two lower powered models from Ultra and FSP designed to supplement one’s main PSU in providing power for the newer and more watt hungry video cards. In part two, both of those units are in for some “tough” competition in the form of two big bad Thermaltakes - the Toughpower Power Express 450W and 650W units.

Articles URL: http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=122

Site URL: http://www.jonnyguru.com

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“While some enthusiasts don’t particularly like a modular cable management on a highend power supply … I find this to work pretty well on the In-Win Commander 1200W PSU. As for looks, it isn’t bad at all … the “Commando Green” colour of the PSU makes it different from the competition. Overall, it is the performance, stability and features that will ultimately be the deciding factor … and I’m pleased to say that the In-Win Commander 1200W have proven to be a real winner.”

Read the rest of the review here … http://www.cpu3d.com/review/6551-1/in-win-commander-1200w-power-supply/introduction.html

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Hardware Bistro has just posted latest preview youtube file on GMC R.4 BullDozer Case. Thanks

Read More:
http://hardwarebistro.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1233&Itemid=66

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Quote: Playstation Home Beta comes out and OC3D has a sneak peek for you inside….

Link: http://www.overclock3d.net/news.php?/games_software/playstation_home_beta_-_pictures_and_thoughts/1

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Digit-Life / iXBT Labs Review: Intel Pentium E5200 Processor

Excerpt:
“It’s a good CPU: performs well, does not get very hot (subjectively), outperforms a lot of more expensive older processors (Core 2 Duo E4600, for example). With its price tag, Pentium E5200 is certainly a much better choice than other Pentium dual-core processors.”

Article: http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-pentium-e5200-p1.html

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TechwareLabs has published a review of the QNAP TS-409U Turbo NAS. Here’s a clip from the review:

Quote: Businesses are always in need of more storage, and those with experience know that its the data that is important and therefore redundancy is critical. We take a look today at the QNAP TS-409U Turbo NAS which combines several features to bring you a device that is not only easy to use and fast, but also provides redundancy. The TS-409U has a laundry list of features and aims to please everyone from the advanced home user to the most needy of businesses. Is the TS-409U just what the doctor ordered? Read our review to find out.

LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/servers/qnap_ts_409u_turbo_nas

Title: QNAP TS-409U Turbo NAS @ TechwareLabs

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Title: Ubuntu vs. OpenSolaris vs. FreeBSD Benchmarks @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=13149
Summary: “Over the past few weeks we have been providing several in-depth articles looking at the performance of Ubuntu Linux. We had begun by providing Ubuntu 7.04 to 8.10 benchmarks and had found the performance of this popular Linux distribution to become slower with time and that article was followed up with Mac OS X 10.5 vs. Ubuntu 8.10 benchmarks and other articles looking at the state of Ubuntu’s performance. In this article, we are now comparing the 64-bit performance of Ubuntu 8.10 against the latest test releases of OpenSolaris 2008.11 and FreeBSD 7.1.”

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Title: QNAP TS-509 Pro Turbo NAS Review at Overclockers Online
Link: http://www.overclockersonline.net/index.php?page=articles&num=2181
Quote: From start to finish, QNAP has done everything right with the TS-509
Pro. The packaging is simple and filled with useful information for the
customer looking at one at a store. The product is packaged securely with no
place to go and well protected from any possible scratches or dents during
shipment. The specifications scream high end with dual gigabit networking,
RAID 0, 1, 5 and 6 for five hot-swappable SATA II drives.

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Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Interview with Olin Coles of Benchmark Reviews @ TestFreaks.com

November 24th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Interview with Olin Coles of Benchmark Reviews @ TestFreaks.com

Article Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/interview/interview-with-olin-coles-of-benchmark-reviews/

Article Snipit:
” Today I’ve got an interview with Olin Coles, the owner of BenchmarkReviews.com. I’ve personally known Olin for a while, since before he had his own site, and he’s an all around great guy in my opinion. He’s taken BMR and done great things with it, in a very short time it’s become a respectable and highly visited site, so read on to learn more about Olin, and about Benchmark Reviews…”

Category: Everything and Anything | No Comments »

Samsung Propel SGH-a767 @b TestFreaks.com

November 24th, 2008 by Kristofer

Title: Samsung Propel SGH-a767 @b TestFreaks.com

Review Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/samsung-propel-sgh-a767/

Review Snipit:
“So, it’s time for yet another cellphone review, this time I’ve got another from our friends over at Samsung called the Propel. It’s a slider phone of a different sort as when you slide it you reveal a full QWERTY keyboard to make sending text messages and overall text input much easier. The Propel is a fairly lightweight phone even though it is rather large, it’s got excellent call quality, great battery life and it even takes good pictures. It’s an all around great little phone that anyone who types a lot will appreciate and