Another day, and tons more news… Yesterday was my birthday, so I sorta took the day off…
=============================================
Printers are something that many of us take for granted, most people just settle for whatever is on sale and they really don’t look before buying them, they just figure as long as it prints they’ll be happy. That’s regular printers though, since digital cameras have become so popular it’s now become a feature for most all printers that they can print photos, but don’t believe it, I’ve had several printers that claimed that and they were garbage truthfully. This includes expensive one and inexpensive ones, I’ve always been leery of printers that claim to print lab quality photos, that is until recently when I reviewed the Epson WorkForce 600, even though it’s typically an office printer, it does photos beautifully. Now today I’ve got another Epson product for review, this one is specifically designed with the artist in mind, and it shows aesthetically and with the quality of what can be produced with it.
Today I’ve got the Epson Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer for review, and yes it’s a multi-functional printer, but it’s primary one for the artist in all of us, it’s centered more around creativity than office work. Don’t get me wrong though it can handle office tasks as well with ease, but it does it with style and grace. The built-in 7.8″ touch panel is wonderful to work with, and there’s even a 3.5″ LCD display as well, the Artisan 800 is what a printer should be.
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/epson-artisan-800-all-in-one-printer/
=============================================
We all need more storage space, but with most computers there is only so many hard drives you can install, of course you could get an add-in card to enable more drive headers, but that can be a pain. When you’ve got your own network though it’s nice to be able to have one place on the network where everyone can store and share files, that’s where a NAS, or Network Attached Storage device comes in handy. NAS Boxes comes in many shapes, sizes and configurations with varying amounts of storage available to you, these can be a great place to allow everyone access to files, be it on the home network or even while they’re away. In this day and age we’ve got tons of stuff that we need to store and a NAS box is something that allows us to store our things elsewhere as not to use up space on the computer’s hard drives, but most NAS boxes are equipped with a plethora of other features as well that most people will find attractive and very useful.
I’ve got a fairly large review for you today, it’s a rather small product but it’s just packed with features. Today I’ve got the Thecus 3200Pro NAS box, and it’s a powerhouse in a small package. The N3200Pro is equipped with an AMD Geode processor to insure everything from file transfers to streaming media will run nice and smooth. In the N3200Pro you can put up to three 1 Terabyte hard drives which can give you 3 Terabytes of storage, but you can also choose from several RAID options as well like the main feature, RAID 5, that allows you to have anything you put on the N3200Pro to be nice and secure. So read on to learn about what is probably the most fully featured NAS box on the market today…
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/thecus-n3200pro/
========================================================
DV Hardware has published a review of the Sharkoon PC Jump Start.
Sharkoon PC Jump Start
Is your computer located under your desk and are you tired of crawling under your desk to switch on your PC? And do you hate having to search for audio ports and USB ports in the dark? Then you might be interested in the PC Jump Start from Sharkoon.
========================================================
Titel: Xilence Xilent Blade Pro ’4all.pro’
Text:
Das deutsch-chinesische Unternehmen Xilence hat sich der Kühlung und der Geräuschminimierung der PC-Komponenten verschrieben und so soll der Xilent Blade Pro, oder auch ’4all.pro’, den Prozessor nicht nur kühlen, sondern dies auch noch bei einer angenehmen Geräuschkulisse erledigen. Auf den ersten Blick erinnert der Xilent Blade Pro an vorangegangene Kühler aus dem Hause Xilence. Jedoch hat sich eine entscheidende Änderung beim ’4all.pro’ ergeben, er setzt auf die H.D.T. Technologie. Ob das Konzept aufgeht, erfahrt ihr im folgenden Review.
URL: http://www.dexgo.com/index.php?site=artikel/view.php&rubrik=Hardware&id=342
English translated by Babel Fish: http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=de_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexgo.com%2Findex.php%3Fsite%3Dartikel%2Fview.php%26rubrik%3DHardware%26id%3D342
English translated by Google: http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexgo.com%2Findex.php%3Fsite%3Dartikel%2Fview.php%26rubrik%3DHardware%26id%3D342&sl=de&tl=en&hl=de&ie=UTF-8
===================================================
NEW CONTENT (Visual) – Leadtek WinFast GTX 260 EXTREME+ in SLI
QUOTE: “The GTX 260 has quickly become one of those confusing models. We had the card originally launch in June of 2008 and towards the end of last year word came of an updated model that would carry with it 216 shader processors over the original 192 we saw at launch.
Today we’re going to be looking at the Leadtek GTX 260 EXTREME+. While the card doesn’t carry the new 55nm core, it does carry the upgraded shader processors. Before we get stuck into the performance of the card, though, let’s take the time to have a quick look at the package along with a closer look at the card and the clocks it carries. Hopefully the card will warrant the Extreme name tag, so let’s not delay and get stuck into it.”
For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1768/leadtek_winfast_gtx_260_extreme_in_sli/index.html
======================================================
Hardware Bistro has opened a giveaway contest for our readers.
Read More:
http://hardwarebistro.com/index.php?option=com_fireboard&Itemid=87&func=view&id=3&catid=30
=====================================================
After a grueling 3 hour drive … we managed to get to the Sno!Bar at the Xscape centre in Milton Keynes. The place was buzzing and packed with eager overclockers and enthusiasts. We wasted no time and took photos of all the action.
Competing teams and individuals included:
- BenchTec – LN2 cooling
- DarkCat - Air cooling
- YoYoTech – Water cooling
- Ben – Air cooling
- Midland – Air cooling
Let’s take a look at the preparation … http://www.cpu3d.com/article/7189-1/cpu3d-special-gigabyte-go-oc-uk-championship-2009/introduction.html
======================================================
Destroy All Humans – Path of the Furon – 360 Review
Date: 2-27-2009Â By Vlad Mihaiescu
You will not see any new technologies on display in this title, nor will you find the best and most accurate game physics in a game, but what you get is the ability to role-play a bitter, grumpy, selfish alien, an alien with some pretty sweet gadgets at his disposal. This game is fun and at the same time, it is reasonably priced. Most Xbox360 games are around sixty bucks, but this game sells for $39.99 brand new. This game certainly is silly, but at the same time, razing down entire buildings in a flying saucer is a lot of fun. As for the heart of the aliens, they are much warmer and nicer compared to Niko Bellic; I see why this game is rated T and not M.
Link: http://www.gamepyre.com/reviewsd.html?aid=1057&p=1
===============================================
| Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review |
 |
Author: Ben Sun Date: 02-27-2009
Thecus spent a lot of time making the N4100PRO easy to set up and use for even the most novice of users. The need for a NAS server for the Home business or even for the family that wants to share a lot of files between themselves or Music has never been more apparent than in today’s media based American culture. Thecus’s N4100PRO is available online for a modest $420, making it the same cost as a Netbook laptop computer. But for the $420 you get a NAS computer that can hold up to 4TB of HDD space, manage your files across a network and act like a fileserver. In that sense, the N4100PRO does the job just like the N5200BR and N3200 did and is an excellent product for the money.
Review Link: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1860_1.html
=================================================
Title: NZXT Sentry LX Fan Controller @ Techgage
Link: http://techgage.com/article/nzxt_sentry_lx_fan_controller/
Quote: Whether you are looking to add some eye-candy to your machine, or want full control over your cooling system, adding in a robust fan controller isn’t a bad idea. One of the best we’ve seen to date is NZXT’s Sentry LX, which we happen to be taking a look at here. It’s well-priced, looks good and works well… three things we like to see with any product.
=================================================
ASUS Striker II NSE nVidia nForce 790i SLI Motherboard Review
“The ASUS Striker II NSE motherboard continues in this tradition, with a heavy dose of the fastest NVIDIA-based platform for Intel socket 775 processors out there, some serious kick ass, and a healthy pinch of Take-that! To make this all possible ASUS has selected NVIDIA’s DDR3-exclusive nForce 90i SLI chipset and taken advantage of its three-way SLI capabilities, so that a trio of NVIDIA graphics cards can be used together during gaming.”
URL LINK: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2375
TAG-LINE: ASUS Striker II NSE nVidia nForce 790i SLI Motherboard Review @ PCSTATS.com
=================================================
“Apple’s iLife ‘09 is one of the most impressive collection of media applications on the market. If you are an iLife ‘06 user and your system can run Mac OS X 10.5 smoothly, iLife ‘09 is certainly a significant step forward, but if you are happy with iLife ‘08 then it becomes a harder sell. Apple doesn’t reward loyalty either: there are no discounts to owners of earlier versions, so whether you are running iLife ‘04, ‘06 or ‘08, the ‘09 version will cost you the same. Nonetheless, iLife is still the best suite out there for combining your photos, videos, and audio recording into stunning projects to show friends and family. If you’ve got multiple Macs in your house, you may want to consider the Family Pack (Best Current Price: £73.60), which comes with rights to install the software on up to five different machines.â€
http://www.itreviewed.co.uk/rev.php?id=940
=================================================
OCIA.net has posted their review of the OCZ Technology Solid Series SSD Drive. Below is a direct quote from the review:
“When it comes to Solid State Drives, the old adage holds true… speed costs, how fast do you want to go? OCZ’s own SSDs such as their Core series of drives, have often garnered praise for their fast read/write times, but like other brands have been priced out of reach of the average consumer. To combat this OCZ has released their Solid Series, a value line of SSD drives for the masses. The 30Gb model they sent over for review today can be found for right around $100. But at that price can it live up to the OCZ name? Or is it merely a glorified USB thumb drive in disguise?“
=================================================
Title: Will truly DIY laptops ever exist?
Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/blog/127
Category: Blog
Here is a snippet:
“Today we don’t have much control over the laptop configuration. We have to choose a portable from one of the list of available models from the manufacturer (it is true that big manufacturers provide a myriad of models to try to accommodate all kinds of user). Even with manufacturers that allow personalized configurations, you have to order the laptop and they will assemble one with the exact specs you requested and have to wait the system to be delivered. Today there is no way to build your laptop like the way we build desktops.”
================================================
Title: Revoltec FightMouse Pro Review on Technic3D
Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-826,1-revoltec-fightmouse-pro-sportfahrwerk.htm
Quote: “The new Revoltec FightMouse Pro arrived Technic3D.
The Revoltec FightMouse PRO comes equipped with a laser sensor capable of handling up to 3200 dpi. The additional weights provide for customized handling. The dpi switch integrated beneath the scroll wheel makes it easy to change between the 4 custom-definable dpi levels. The colour of the scroll wheel signalises the currently selected dpi level and the mode button allows the user to switch between mouse profiles, which can be freely customised using the software. The included software allows for 8 of the 9 buttons to be custom programmed. Up to three different mouse profiles are also available. These are stored in the Revoltec FightMouse PRO’s 8kb of on-board memory. More you can see in the following Review on Technic3D. Better than the OCZ Dominatrix or Cyber Sniper Stinger?”
================================================
Title: MNPCTECH Spring Loaded Case Handles at Modders-Inc
Summary: So, you’ve just finished modding a kick butt gaming rig, adding a killer paint job that causes neck snapping double-takes, to take to LAN parties? But, it is a pain to carry around, it’s heavy for one thing and having to clean finger prints etc off the paint is a drag. If only it had handles eh?
Articles URL: http://www.modders-inc.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=262
Site URL:Â http://www.modders-inc.com
==============================================
Hardware Bistro has just posted latest review on Popcorn Hour A-110 Networked Media Tank.
Quote: “Looking for a media player to play all kinds of digital video, audio and photo on your home theater system? If yes then you may probably interest with this device; A-110. Popcorn Hour A-110 is a “Networked Media Tank” which is a standalone device to play the digital files flawlessly. Let us go through together to find out what this machine can do for you.
Read More:
http://hardwarebistro.com/index.php?option=com_simple_review&Itemid=84&review=66-Popcorn-Hour-Networked-Media-Tank-Review
=============================================
Title:
Silverstone Fortress & Strider 750W
Link:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Silverstone/Fortress_FT01
Brief:
The Silverstone Fortress aims to shrink the same awe inspiring and award winning uni-body construction of the legendary TJ07 to a mid-tower case, while still offering modern functionality and all the bells and whistles one should expect from an enthusiast enclosure.
=============================================
iXBT Labs Review: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295
Excerpt:
“GeForce GTX 295 is based on two 55nm GT200b chips, which differ from their 65nm predecessors only in smaller die surface and lower power consumption. The transition to the 55nm process technology allows the card with two powerful GPUs to consume less than 300W and keep heat release at a level that its redesigned dual-slot cooling system can handle.”
Article: http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/video/gt200-6-part1-p1.html
===============================================
TechwareLabs has published a review of the Pyramat Game Bag 2.1. Here’s a clip from the review:
Quote: Tired of sitting way back on your couch, 30 feet back, having to listen to the sub par speakers on that 26″ LCD you bought on sale at Wal-Mart? Why not move a little closer and hear a little better? Join Ilya as we take a look at the Game Bag 2.1 by Pyramat to see if it can help you destroy the enemy.
LINK: http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/PowerSupply/pyramat_gamebag_2_1
Title: TechwareLabs Reviews the Pyramat Game Bag 2.1
===============================================
NEW CONTENT (Visual) – Windows 7 vs. Vista VGA Performance Analysis
QUOTE: “I’m one of those people who love Vista; I will openly admit it and honestly, from day one I’ve loved it. Over time it’s only gotten better and as someone who loves their graphics cards and games, why would you not want to experience DirectX 10?
Today we want to see how VGA performance looks under the new Windows 7 in comparison to the now very well established Vista. We want performance to be close to Vista, but with Windows 7 still being in its Beta stage, we’re not going to hold our breath.”
For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1767/windows_7_vs_vista_vga_performance_analysis/index.html
================================================
ASUS M3A78-T AMD 790GX Socket AM2+ Motherboard Review
“The ASUS M3A78-T motherboard features AMD’s latest Integrated Graphics Processor, the Radeon HD 3300. The interesting point about this IGP is that it has 128MB of additional DDR3 Sideport memory just for itself. In previous reviews of 790GX motherboards we’ve seen that this is one of the fastest integrated graphics processors on the market, mainly because it’s more like an integrated videocard than standard IGPs which are not equipped with dedicated RAM. The AMD 790GX chipset is essentially a cherry-picked Radeon HD 3200 IGP, overclocked from 500MHz to a 700MHz core clock.”
URL LINK: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2374
TAG-LINE:Â ASUS M3A78-T AMD 790GX Socket AM2+ Motherboard Review @ PCSTATS.com
=================================================
TITLE: Patriot Viper 6GB 1600MHz DDR3 Memory Kit @ Benchmark Reviews
DESCRIPTION: When most shoppers compare system memory kits, they often look for the highest speeds for the best price. Everyone is different, but overclockers and performance enthusiasts generally aim for the best combination of low-latency high-speed RAM they can get find. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the performance of a top-speed triple-channel product for the Intel Core i7 platform. The Patriot Viper 6GB 1600MHz DDR3 memory kit PVT36G1600ELK will be compared against several other products and benchmarked for bandwidth and gaming performance. Are the higher speeds worth the money, or can this memory kit overclock to their level? By the end of this article, you’ll have your answer.
ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=275&Itemid=67
================================================
TITLE: Steelseries Ikari Laser Mouse Reviewed @ LanOC Reviews
DESCRIPTION: Steelseries is well known for being a quality gaming peripheral company. Their headsets and mouse pads are seen all over any just about any lanpartys or tournament that you go to. Up until last year their mouse line was basically a Microsoft mouse with a paint job. Designing a mouse takes time, and designing a mouse of the caliber of their other products takes a lot of time, fifteen months in fact. A year later we finally have a chance to take a look at the Ikari Laser to see if the time they invested was worth it.
ARTICLE URL: http://lanoc.org/reviews/steelseries-ikari-laser-mouse/
================================================
NEW CONTENT (Input Peripherals) – OCZ Neural Impulse Actuator – Mind Over Hand
QUOTE: “OCZ is a company that has joined the gaming peripherals bandwagon only in recent times, launching a slew of products such as the OCZ Dominatrix Mouse. Now they have decided that anybody can release a mouse and keyboard and instead their top engineers have come up with a completely revolutionary input device – the Neural impulse Actuator (or NIA for short).
By harnessing the power of your facial muscles, you can substitute keyboard and joystick controls in-game and free up your left hand for other key combinations.”
For more information, please visit - http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/1766/ocz_neural_impulse_actuator_mind_over_hand/index.html
=================================================
“To our slightly older readers brand Titan is well known for their cooling solutions. Titan coolers were always aiming at low-budget user group although there are some “serious†products in their portfolio. Titan products were always named with female names and had mythical beings on their product packages. This time in our test lab arrived Titan CPU cooler that supports Intel LGA 775/1366 and AMD K8/AM2/AM3 sockets and it is named upon mythical wolf – Fenrir…â€
Article link:
http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Cooling/Titan-Fenrir.html
===============================================
Title: Cooler Master Storm Sniper Review at Overclockers Online
Link: http://www.overclockersonline.net/?page=articles&num=2561
Quote: After my tour of duty with the CM Storm Sniper case, I’ve come away with
a positive experience overall. From top to bottom the Sniper packs in some
useful features such as the built in fan controller and StormGuard peripheral
retention system. The Storm shows that Cooler Master is listening to gamers and
enthusiasts by including features from past cases that work and giving us new
features that work.
===================================================
IcyDock MB674SPF-B 4-Bay Tooless Hard Drive Bay Module
“The ICYDock MB674SPF-B provides a convenient way to increase data storage capacity in any computer case with at least three open 5.25″ drive bays. Just open up one of the four bays, slide a SATA hard drive in and close the door. The hard drive automatically engages with SATA data and power connectors, no screws required! The ICYDock MB674SPF-B is a seriously convenient Serial ATA hard drive backplane module. “
URL LINK: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2372
TAG-LINE: IcyDock MB674SPF-B 4-Bay Tooless Hard Drive Bay Module @ PCSTATS.com
====================================================
| XFX GeForce GTX 285 Black Edition Review |
|
Author: Ben Sun Date: 2-26-2009
The GTX 285 is the fastest single chip video card on the market today. XFX includes a great bundle in the form of the hit game from last year Far Cry 2 and the Double Lifetime warranty they are famous for. For those with a GTX 280 they aren’t likely shopping for a new card at this time anyway. As we move further into 2009, the 65nm GTX 280s should go the way of the Dodo, extinct; meaning those wanting a high end card in this price range from NVIDIA will want a GTX 285. Stereoscopic 3D works with the GTX 285, and if you can get used to the effect on games that are not coded for it, is the future of how we will play games. This is the latest offering in the affordable high-end VGA card and a Hot Product indeed.
Review Link: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1859_1.html
===================================================
GTA – The Lost and Damned – 360 Review
Date: 02-26-2009Â By Vlad Mihaiescu
This expansion pack does not include just some new sounds, a few new graphics and some new missions. Rockstar put together an almost brand new game for us. Once again, much of the gameplay and controls section of the new expansion pack are features found in the original GTA IV, but at the same time, The Lost and Damned has a multitude of new features.
One of the game’s new features is what I like to call the “brotherhood” approach. Niko Bellic was looking out for Niko Bellic but in The Lost and Damned Johnny has to look out for his gang and at the same time The Lost looks out for him (mostly). Many of the missions in this expansion pack involve a group of The Lost doing what the boss dictates. As your “brothers” help you complete missions they earn experience that makes them better soldiers. If one of your fellow bikers gets killed he is replaced by another Lost but unfortunately, the new replacement has to survive other missions if you want his experience to go up.
Link: http://www.gamepyre.com/reviewsd.html?aid=1063&p=1
===================================================
Here is a snippet that can be used for the review:
“Evercool offers a slick looking VGA cooler for both ATI and NVidia based graphics cards. Read on to see how well it cools our EVGA 8800GT video card.“
====================================================
The Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds is a rather unique product, targeted squarely at mobile professionals who require the power, features, and performance of workstation-class machine on the go. We previously evaluated the standard ThinkPad W700 and praised the system for its performance and stand-out integrated features, like a Wacom Digitizer Tablet and X-Rite Color Calibrator. The ThinkPad W700ds takes all of the features offered by the W700 and ads a secondary, slide-out display, which increases monitor real-estate by 39%.
The machine we received for evaluation was outfitted with 4GB of RAM, a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300, an NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700M 1GB GPU, and dual Hitachi hard drives running in RAID 0 configuration. Its sale price? $6,209.00 as configured. ThinkPad W700ds pricing ranges from just over $4000 though, to approximately $8000 for a fully loaded configuration.
Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds Dual-Screen Mobile Workstation
http://hothardware.com/Articles/Lenovo-ThinkPad-W700ds-Mobile-Workstation/
================================================
Title: Corsair XMS3 Dominator 6GB Kit DDR3 1600 CL8 Memory Review on Technic3D
Link: http://www.technic3d.com/article-822,1-corsair-xms3-dominator-6gb-kit-ddr3-1600-cl8.htm
Quote: “The Corsair XMS3 Dominator 6GB Kit DDR3 1600 CL8 (TR3X6G1600C8D) arrived Technic3D. Technic3D will see as good they are with Overclocking against the G.Skill 1600 Memory Kit on Windows Vista Ultimate and the Foxconn X58 Mainboard. You can see 1.805 MHz with 9-9-9-24 and Command Rate 1 in the following Review.”
================================================
Quote: ASUS has released images of their Marine Cool concept motherboard which promises increased stability over overclocking prowess.
Link: http://www.overclock3d.net/news.php?/cpu_mainboard/asus_marine_cool_concept_motherboard/1
==================================================
