Jeebus, I’ve got a lot of reviews for you today. All sorts of things, from the new Wizard of Oz DVD to sound systems and motherboards. Fancy. Let’s get to it…
iBuyPower Corei5 System Review
Link: http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/ibuypower-corei5-system-review/
Review Blurb: “The Corei5 was just introduced about 2 weeks ago and iBuyPower was gracious enough to send me over a complete system for review. The Corei5 is the new budget CPU and I’ve put it up against my current system with a C2Q9650 in it that also has double the ram and a better performing video card. Will that make a difference, or is the new architecture of the Corei5 better overall? So I’m looking at this in terms of an upgrade from my own system, or any other C2Q system really… So read on..”
====================================
Apple Tips #1 – Six Quick iPod / iPhone Tips & Tricks
Link: http://igadgetlife.com/2009/10/01/apple-tips-1-%E2%80%93-six-quick-ipod-iphone-tips-tricks/
Article Blurb: “We’re going to be starting a new feature here at iGadgetLife, and we promise you’re going to love it more than that $12 check you got from your grandmother on your birthday. Once a week, we’ll dish out some handy tips and tricks related to anything Apple; from the iPhone and iPod to the web, gadgets, MacBooks and iMacs. They may be related to software, basic features that often go overlooked, hacks and modifications that extend productivity – as long as it’s Apple, we’ll tell you about it.”
====================================
MSI U210 12.1-inch Netbook Review
Link: http://www.i4u.com/section-viewarticle-598.html
Review Blurb: “Today I am testing out the new MSI U210 netbook. This machine is considered a netbook by MSI, but it has a larger screen and doesn’t run the typical netbook class Intel Atom processor. Another diversion from the standard netbook fare is the OS that the machine uses. In reality, the MSI U210 isn’t so much a netbook as it is a low-end ultra portable. If you can live with the power of a netbook, but you want a larger screen and keyboard the U210 may be perfect for you.”
====================================
Zotac ION ITX A Series Motherboard Review
Review Blurb: “The ION ITX A Series is an incredibly comprehensively specified little package.”
====================================
LG BD390
Link: http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Multimedia/LG-BD390.html
Review Blurb: “Earlier this year LG presented its first Blu-ray player (LG BD370) which was revolutionary at that moment, and now, we present you its successor: LG BD390. Our expectations for this model were high, but we must admit that despite our high expectations we were still pleasantly surprised with features that this player offers. For now, LG BD390 is the only Blu-ray player that will allow you to get rid of your “old” DVD/DivX players, and send them to desired retirement. What’s more, this player will allow you to watch HD movies in compressed (among others MKV) format.”
====================================
Coollaboratory Liquid Metal Pro Thermal Compound Review
Review Blurb: “It is no mystery that metals have some excellent thermal properties, being able to conduct heat away very efficiently. You don’t have to look far to see evidence of this, with copper and aluminium leading the way in most thermal dissipation solutions, namely heatsinks. However, heatsinks alone have never been effective without an interface between itself and the component to maximise heat transfer. Thermal compounds have filled this role for a very long time, with the function of filling any gaps in the interface and for the most part, they have been ceramic or solid metal based. Metal based thermal compounds have been high popular in the past for their high thermal conductivity but conversely, those metal based compounds have one big inherent disadvantage, electrical conductivity. In a bid to make thermal compounds less electrically conductive, it’s possible to say that manufacturers have been unable to create the perfect product. This is where Coollaboratory comes in.”
====================================
Thermalright T-Rad² GTX VGA Cooler
Link: http://www.ocia.net/reviews/trtradgtx/page1.shtml
Review Blurb: “Late last year we reviewed the Thermalright HR-03 GTX, the first aftermarket air cooler to support the nVidia GTX 260 and 280 video cards. Thermalright subsequently released a Rev.A version of this same cooler to expand compatibility for the newest 55nm die-shrunk GT200 core cards, the revamped 260 core 216, the 275 and the 285. While the HR-03 series are certainly great coolers, yielding on average 20°C reduction in load temperatures, they are also quite large and take up a good bit of space regardless of whether you install it with the heatpipe fins wrapped over the back of the card or hanging out the front.”
====================================
Bose QuietComfort 15 Review
Link: http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review/6730/bose-quietcomfort-15-review
Review Blurb: “Here’s today’s quiz—guess how many headphones will be bought in the U.S. this year? If you said 68 million, you’d win the prize. The vast majority are earbuds for music players with a chunk (12 million) the classic wired-headband, DJ-wannabe style cans. A much smaller portion of these are noise-canceling type, the kind that shuts out the outside world and lets you concentrate on the music, soundtrack or whatever you’re listening to. Bose, the venerable audio company, really made this latter type of headphone popular and its classic QuietComfort 2 model is frequently spotted on dozing airplane passengers.”
====================================
Sony alpha DSLR-A850 Review
Link: http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review/6729/sony-alpha-dslr-a850-review
Review Blurb: “Even in this era of rapidly plunging HDTV, Blu-ray disc player and game console prices, some devices remain very expensive. Case in point: full-frame DSLRs. These cameras use sensors that are the same size as a frame of 35mm film, so photo quality is outstanding, but you’ll pay for this performance. Until the introduction of the new A850, the most “affordable” full-frame models were the 21.1-megapixel Canon 5D Mark II and 24.6MP Sony alpha DSLR-A900, each $2,699 for the body alone.”
====================================
MSI P55-GD65 Review
Link: http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/msi_p55gd65/
Review Blurb: “With the recent launch of Intel’s Core i5 and 8 series Core i7 socket 1156 processors there is a need for motherboards to match up with these new processors. You have the boards that are meant for the system builders and OEMs, but what we are interested in are the enthusiast class boards. Those with the features and build quality we demand as overclockers.”
====================================
LUXA2 H1-Touch
Link: http://aphnetworks.com/reviews/luxa2_h1_touch
Review Blurb: “There’s something when it comes to luxury: It’s not about the function, nor is it about practicality. It’s about the excess and sheer form; the beauty in itself when it comes to the object’s existence. It’s about the image, and the fact that, while you could have better spent your money elsewhere, you didn’t. Because despite the vanity of the object, it’s so necessary, yet completely unnecessary, all at the same time.”
====================================
Perixx Periboard-708 Wireless Touchpad Keyboard
Link: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/index.php?x=reviews&id=1054
Review Blurb: “If you have a home theater PC or similar setup you know how important it is to have a wireless keyboard and mouse. No one wants to walk over to the PC use the attached keyboard then have to walk back to the couch. This does seem lazy but it is more convenient just to have a wireless keyboard and mouse. Today we will be taking a look at the Periboard-708 from Perixx, which solves both problems as it is a wireless keyboard and touchpad in one. Let’s take a look and see if it is the perfect device for your HTPC setup.”
====================================
Thecus N5500 Five-Bay NAS Server
Link: http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/2949/thecus_n5500_five_bay_nas_server/index.html
Review Blurb: “Thecus has been on a roll in 2009 launching one product after another. Some of the new products are just updates of previously released ones like the N7700 SAS and N8800 SAS, while others are redesigned from the ground up. The Thecus N5200 Pro was an amazing product but its time has now come to pass. The successor to the N5200 Pro is the N5500, another 5 SATA bay NAS server.”
====================================
Gigabyte GV-N26OC-896I
Link: http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1686
Review Blurb: “Unlike motherboards, where manufacturers have options to add features and components to differentiate one board from another, graphics cards often are manufactured with the same design specifications. In order to stand out in the sea of vendors, manufacturers often resort to after-market coolers to provide better cooling. In addition, they will sell cards with higher clock-speeds than the reference speeds, or bundle it with different accessories and games. They may also provide different warranty options, such as lifetime warranty or a double lifetime warranty.”
====================================
Samsung SyncMaster 2443BWX 24 Inch LCD Monitor
Link: http://www.bigbruin.com/content/samsung24_1
Review Blurb: “Geeks.com has a large selection of computer monitors and we have been checking out a variety of different models recently. This time around they have sent over the unit shown in the promotional image below, the Samsung SyncMaster 2443BWX. This monitor features a 24" 16:10 widescreen display that sports fairly impressive specifications, including a 1920×1200 resolution, 5ms response time, 20000:1 dynamic contrast, and 300 cd/m2 brightness.”
====================================
HTC Hero Review
Link: http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/review/6731/htc-hero-review
Review Blurb: “If you’re a Sprint customer tired of listening to your rapturous iPhone-owning buds rave about the device while waiting for a decent smartphone alternative to arrive on the network, rejoice – your wait is over. Sprint’s Android-powered Hero, made by HTC, isn’t perfect – in fact, the cellular handset’s often really sluggish – but it does offer several compelling reasons to buy. Think multi-touch pinch in/out resizing of photos and Web pages, plus Outlook sync – just like the iPhone. In addition, the device actually improves on Apple’s offering in several noteworthy ways, including a sharper 5MP camera, haptic feedback on its QWERTY keyboard and a microSD slot for expandable storage.”
====================================
ABS Tigas Super Full Tower Chassis
Link: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1098/1/
Review Blurb: “The Tigas is most definitely high end with a price tag of $499 plus shipping, but that is not without reason. The Tigas is a full aluminum all black anodized chassis designed with gaming, multimedia, and storage in mind. For the user that has storage in mind the Tigas has front access to 10 hot-swappable SATA/SAS hard drive bays that have independent power switches to allow the user to have control over what drives power up.”
====================================
The Wizard Of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition
Link: http://www.ascully.com/blu-ray-reviews/the-wizard-of-oz-70th-giftset/
Review Blurb: “How can you go wrong with images from The Wizard of Oz? Simple, you can’t. It’s colorful and iconic so even a hint of Emerald City or one of the characters is going to sweep me away, so they didn’t have to go to much effort for me..but they did! This box set is well made, beautifully printed, quality all over. It comes in good size box, well made, sturdy, and pretty darn classy. Let me remind you of one thing before we continue here today, The Wizard of Oz is my lifelong favorite movie, THE movie that started me down the film loving brick road, so my views are through ruby red glasses…get the drift?”
God, I want one of those… Until tomorrow, adieu!