Tech News & Product Reviews for 9/8/09
Welcome to your daily dose of delicious tech-related links. Today I’ll be able to link you to a whole mess of really nerdy stuff. First off are some press releases about tech-related goodness, followed by a whole mess of hardware reviews from around the web. There’s even a bad Wii game in there and some other stuff. Hardcore geek day. Heck yeah. Have fun.
Wireless Digital TV in the Home Hits U.S.
Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/press-releases/wireless-digital-tv-in-the-home-hits-us/
Release Blurb: “Ruckus Wireless(TM) today announced Consolidated Communications, a U.S. incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC), has selected and is actively deploying the Ruckus “Smart Wi-Fi” multimedia system as its in-home connectivity standard, enabling wireless IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) for its subscribers. Consolidated Communications includes the Ruckus MediaFlex(TM) gear at no additional charge as part of its popular Digital Video Service.â€
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NETGEAR Introduces Digital Entertainer Live, Compact All-in-One Set-top Box for Playing Home Media and Streaming Internet Video on HDTVs
Wow, that’s a hell of a long URL.
Release Blurb: “NETGEAR , Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) , a worldwide provider of technologically innovative, branded networking solutions, today launched the newest Internet-connected set-top box in its popular “Digital Entertainer” product family. The new Digital Entertainer Live (EVA2000) is an easy-to-use and affordable Internet set-top box that enables viewers to play their digital media collections, YouTube videos and a wide range of other Internet content on big-screen TVs. Rather than having to watch downloaded movies and online videos on small computer screens, families can now enjoy media collections stored on USB storage devices, computers and network storage directly on their HDTVs, from the comfort of their couch.â€
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Majesco Entertainment Releases ‘Go Play City Sports’ For Wii
Release Blurb: “Majesco Entertainment Company , an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced that Go Play City Sports for Wii(TM) is available at retailers nationwide. The third title in Majesco’s Go Play line of interactive, family-friendly titles, Go Play City Sports recreates the experience of growing up playing sports in the city.â€
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ASUS Radeon HD 4890 Formula Graphics Card
Link: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2908/asus_radeon_hd_4890_formula_graphics_card/index.html
Review Blurb: “Today we will be having a look at a Radeon HD 4890 from ASUS which falls into the Formula series of video cards. With some pretty impressive versions of this GPU out lately already, ASUS will have to offer us something that stands out from the pack, if they want to be considered by potential buyers.â€
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MusicSkins for 13†MacBook Laptops
Link: http://igadgetlife.com/2009/09/05/musicskins-for-13%E2%80%9D-macbook-laptops/
Review Blurb: “MusicSkins products advertise themselves as quality designs on quality materials that will make your gadgets exciting without ruining their surfaces. They make skins for nearly everything – laptops, iPods, cell phones, even your plastic Guitar Hero and Rock Band peripherals. One thing they do not do is produce garbage products. Truth be told, MusicSkins cost a good bit more than the $3 piece of silk-thick rubber “skin†you bought on eBay to wrap around your cell phone, but they are absolutely worth the investment for a number of reasons. Let’s check them out…”
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Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward Nintendo Wii
Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/hysteria-hospital-emergency-ward/
Review Blurb: “Today for review I’ve got Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward for the Nintendo Wii for review, it’s from Oxygen games. Hysteria Hospital reminded me of a Sims type of game when I first started playing it, that’s not a bad thing if you like those types of games, but I personally don’t care for them. HH is not a bad game really, but it gets boring very quickly, and it doesn’t really offer much new and exciting, it’s actually kind of boring and repetitive honestly. It is cute and funny at times, the animation is done in a comical way that will put a smile on your face, but that’s not enough to make a good game. So read on to see screen shots and a couple movies…”
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Cooler Master Notepal X2
Link: http://lanoc.org/reviews/cooler-master-notepal-x2/
Review Blurb: “Anyone who has purchased a Cooler Master product will find no surprises here; the trademark white box with light-purple trim that opens simply to reveal only that which is necessary to package the product safely and run it. Its the kind of design that you appreciate for a number of reasons, but the one that always sticks out with notebook coolers is the ability to use the original packaging as a carrying case. The simplicity carries through to the internal packaging, sporting two Styrofoam blocks on either side to prevent shifting, a bag containing the USB connection cord, and the instruction manual.â€
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Intel Core i7 870/Core i5 750/P55 Express chipset Review
Link: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1942_1.html
Review Blurb: “Every couple of years Intel releases a new CPU architecture. To go along with the new CPUs a new high-end and a new mainstream motherboard chipset is released to support them. The last iteration of this was the Intel X48 chipset for the enthusiast and the Intel P45 chipset for the mainstream. The LGA-775 interface was common to both platforms as the motherboard chipset required three chips: the Northbridge, the Southbridge, and the Processor.â€
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ASUS MAXIMUS III Formula Motherboard Review
Link: http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/motherboards/1943_1.html
Review Blurb: “Intel launched their Core i7 CPU and X58 chipset for the enthusiast segment in November of last year. While the Core i7 and X58 combination has proven to be a winner in terms of performance, the price tag of a new system with a new motherboard and new memory (Triple Channel DDR3) has proven to be a hindrance to some.â€
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Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield Processor
Link: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews.php?/cpu_mainboard/intel_core_i7-870_lynnfield_processor/1
Review Blurb: “First and foremost, it should be acknowledged that this is not a LGA1366/Intel X58 compatible processor and as of today, the Core i7 exists on two different sockets. One way to spot the difference is to consider the model number, where i7 8xx’s are LGA1156 while i7 9xx’s are LGA1366. So what exactly differentiates the processors on LGA1156 with those on LGA1366?â€
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Mushkin GeForce GTX 295 Single PCB 1792 MB
Link: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Mushkin/GTX_295_Single_PCB
Review Blurb: “Just like the original GeForce GTX 295, the single-PCB GTX 295 comes with two 55 nm GPUs that each have 240 shading units, memory bus width is 448 bit per GPU and each GPU has 896 MB of memory available. The clock speeds have remained at 576 / 999 MHz. So in essence the performance of the “new” GTX 295 is unchanged to the old one. This also explains why NVIDIA has not released a new product name for their new card generation. This makes it more difficult for customers to spot the right product they want, something like GTX 295+ would had made sense for that. On the other hand many people (us included) would probably complain that there were no real performance improvements in such a product.â€
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Intel Core i5-750 Processor BX80605I5750
There are two reviews for this product out today…
Link: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=361&Itemid=63
Link 2: http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/cpus/intel-core-i5-750/
Review Blurb: “When it launched last year, the Core i7 platform redefined Intel’s high-end processor segment. Unfortunately, the platform was also accompanied by high-end prices and, as such, has seen only a minimal share of the desktop market. Today, however, Intel is releasing a new platform that it claims will bring the performance of Nehalem to mainstream price points. Referred to as Lynnfield, the new platform shares its core microarchitecture with the i7-900 series, but introduces a completely new chipset and socket design. This means that not only will we see new processors, but new motherboards as well. Benchmark Reviews has been testing several of these new items and will be covering the launch in detail over the next few days. In this article, we examine the Intel Core i5-750 Quad Core Processor model BX80605I5750.â€
Review 2 Blurb: “The introduction of the Core i7 range of processors late last year was the beginning of the Nehalem family. The processors have had a mixed reception and it is fair to say that although the new series has been impressive performance wise, the pricing was and still is too much for many users. After all, the LGA1366 socket requires not only the processor but also an X58 motherboard and triple channel DDR3 memory.â€
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Asus P7P55D EVO P55 Motherboard
Review Blurb: “Last month we gave you a sneak preview of the first P55 motherboard. At that time we were restricted on what we could tell you but now the NDA has passed we can reveal, in full, the performance figures the board managed and compare this to both an i7 setup and a test rig based on AMD’s AM3 architecture, all from Asus. This should give you all the best possible, informed choice on where your money should go.â€
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Logitech Harmony 700 Universal Remote Review
Link: http://www.i4u.com/section-viewarticle-587.html
Review Blurb: “Today I am going to check out the latest remote control from Logitech called the Harmony 700. This is a budget offering in the Harmony line, but still pack in most of the features we have come to know and love in the Harmony universal remote line. If you need a good remote control to make operating your home theater easier, the Harmony 700 may be just what you need. Read on for all of the details.â€
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Thermaltake DH-202 HTPC (Media PC) Chassis
Link: http://www.techwarelabs.com/thermaltake-dh-202/
Review Blurb: “In this day and age, technology and computers consume our lives. Its only natural that with time, people will realize that the puny, limited DVR (digital video recorder) that the Cable Company makes you pay for is a waste of space and money, and the longer you have it the more of a waste of money it becomes. With the ability to surf the web, check your email, watch HD movies, record television, and much more, the real question is: “Why wouldn’t you get a HTPC?†And if you’re going to do it, you might as well have one with class. Thermaltake steps up to the plate with one of the nicest HTPC cases we have seen in a while. The Thermaltake DH-202 which is not only nice but also affordable. With an LCD Display, 23-in-1 Card Reader, and enough room to “Cool all Your Life“, the DH-202 is sure to win all our hearts. Will this Thermaltake Chassis live up to its name, or go down into the big book of mistakes.â€
