Wow, everyone. Wow. Today’s news is nothing but for the hardest of hardcore nerds. A few exceptions aside, it’s basically all hardware. Get ready for supreme joy. I’m going to throw on some MC Frontalot while I post this for added effect.
Shattered Horizon
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/shattered-horizon/
When you start Shattered Horizon you’re basically just thrown into combat, there is no single player game, though I wish there was one. The premise behind the game would make for a great single player game I think, it’s a shame they didn’t do a single player campaign. When you start it’s standard stuff, find a server, pick a side and then start playing. There is a briefing before each match to let you know where you are, and a few tips as well.
10 Gifts For The Filthy Rich
http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/information/10-gifts-filthy-rich/
Do you have money to burn? No? Me either. But if you are among the “rich” and “famous” (or not so famous) you may be looking for that special luxurious gift for family and friends for Christmas. Or maybe you’re hoping a rich relative will get you an extravagant gift this holiday season?
Bluetrek Bizz Bluetooth Headset
http://igadgetlife.com/gadgets/bluetrek-bizz-bluetooth-headset/
Today for review our friends over at MobileFun have sent me a very unique Bluetooth headset. It’s called the Bluetrek Bizz, it’s a BT headset and a USB drive in one, it might sound like a funky idea but it’s not. It utilizes a microSD card for storage actually that is hidden under the earpiece, it also doubles as a card reader as well. The USB connection though is not only for the card reader but that’s how you charge th headset as well, there’s no need for an additional charger, just any USB port will do. So read on…
MSI N240GT GeForce GT 240 512 MB GDDR5
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GT_240
Currently NVIDIA is releasing new versions of their lower end graphics card series. All new cards are based on NVIDIA’s first 40 nm graphics processors. The GeForce GT 220 uses the GT216 GPU, while the G 210 uses the GT218 processor. Today marks the release of the GeForce GT 240 – NVIDIA’s first GDDR5 memory card. It uses the GT215 GPU which is made in a 40 nm process at TSMC Taiwan. While the G 210 and GT 220 were position in the low-end segment, the GT 240 will offer performance similar to the GeForce 9600 GT, yet considerably below the again GeForce 9800 GT.
MSI GeForce N240GT 512MB GDDR5 OC Video Card
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3012/msi_geforce_n240gt_512mb_gddr5_oc_video_card/index.html
While we don’t doubt that this model will outsell future mid-range and higher end models when they’re released, it doesn’t make the model any more exciting. In saying that, however, the GT 240 has some pretty cool features like a 40nm core and GDDR5 memory. We’ll get into more detail about this in just a moment.
NZXT Beta Evo Mid-Tower Case
http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7898&Itemid=40
The Beta Evo case that we are taking a look at is very similar to the original NZXT Beta case and features somewhat similar styling of the front bezel. Both the Beta and Beta Evo have a somewhat professional look to them and both have some similar features and general design.
Coolermaster Mouse Mat Roundup
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews/mouse-mats/coolermaster-mouse-mat-roundup/
Coolermaster is a name that will be instantly recognisable to most hardware fans, being a longstanding big player in the case, psu and cooling market. This time round though we will be trying out something a little bit different from Coolermaster, their range of CM Storm mouse mats aimed at the gaming market.
Intel DP55WG Motherboard Review
http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/motherboards/1973_1.html
Intel has really hit its stride with the release of the Lynnfield LGA-1156 P55 Express chipset program. The combination of reasonable prices for the CPU and lower prices for the motherboards have meant that more users are able to purchase the new combination of the LGA-1156 CPU and P55 Express motherboard to improve performance over the Core 2 Duos and Extremes that they replace. Intel has released new motherboards to support this new chipset including the Intel DP55KG SO I reviewed earlier. Today is a new day and a new motherboard review based upon Intel’s new DP55WG motherboard designed for the Media Center PC crowd and featuring the new SATA 3 controller for the latest hard drives that support this feature.
Sunbeamtech Automaton ATX Case Review
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=952
Sunbeamtech send their Automaton in for review, a case with looks inspired from Alienware cases; made from aluminium and with a low entry price it aims to capture the budget-minded enthusiasts out there. Let’s see if they succeeded.
Raidsonic Icybox IB-MP305A-B Mediaplayer
http://www.rbmods.com/content/16438/introduction–first-looks.aspx
Raidsonic is well known for their internal and external RAID-enclosures. This time however we have something totally different. Raidsonic Icybox IB-MP305A-B is their newest FullHD capable mediaplayer with network interface. Let’s have a look how it performs as full featured mediacenter in home use.
Insignia NS-BRDVD3 Review
http://www.digitaltrends.com/product-reviews/insignia-ns-brdvd3-review/
Best Buy’s house brand, Insignia claims to approach product design from a “consumer-driven” perspective. Ideally, as their products advance they should reflect the changing demands of the customer. The NS-BRDVD3 Blu-Ray player does boast some improvements on its predecessor and attempts to increase the bang-for-your-buck factor to help bolster the popularity of the Blu-Ray format. However, the competition at this price point is getting tougher which means the NS-BRDVD3’s missing features could be a deal breaker for some.
Silverstone Raven Gaming Mouse Review
http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1615
PC gaming is one of the biggest slices of the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. As such, there are a surprising number of gaming mice available for the PC… some would say there are too many. These peripherals are multi-use devices, having a lot of buttons and high sensitivity for games, and also used for desktop and graphic applications. As such, some gaming mice subdue their features in a sleek but unassuming mouse that look like any other desktop mouse. Other mice choose to be show off all of their features and scream “Touch me! I am Gaming Rodent! RAWR!”
Samsung Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive
http://www.insidehw.com/Reviews/Storage/Samsung-Spinpoint-F3-Hard-Drive.html
After we reviewed previous, fairly successful, series of Samsung hard drives in our Hard Drive Roundup we were surprised by new F3 series that should queer competitors pitch and possibly take a larger piece of storage market pie. Samsung Spinpoint F1 and EcoGreen F2 series offered good performance rates accompanied with low noise rates, and as such, found themselves in many desktop configurations. We got in our test lab newest Spinpoint F3 series HDD which combines the best features of previous series: speed from F1 and low noise levels from F2 series.
7-Way Intel P55 Motherboard Round-Up
http://www.techspot.com/review/214-intel-p55-motherboard-roundup/
As we learned back in September, Intel effectively ripped out Hyper-Threading and dropped a memory channel with the Core i5. However, after completing extensive testing we found that in most situations the lack of HT technology is not an issue, while the dual-channel memory controller provides ample bandwidth. Furthermore, when comparing clock for clock performance between the Core i5 and Core i7 processors there was very little in it, which was surprising.
ASUS SBC-04D1S-U External Slim Blu-ray Combo Drive Review
http://www.thinkcomputers.org/asus-sbc-04d1s-u-external-slim-blu-ray-combo-drive-review/
Blu-ray devices are slowing becoming more and more popular, especially as prices come down. Many computer users who are looking for a Blu-ray drive can easily find an internal drive for their desktop, but what if they want one for their laptop? How about one that works on both their desktop and laptop? This is where ASUS’s SBC-04D1S-U External Slim Blu-ray Combo Drive comes in. This slim external drive connects to any computer via USB and allows you to play Blu-ray media as well as burn CD’s and DVD’s. Let’s check it out!
ASUS EAH5970 2 GB GDDR5
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/EAH5970
Today marks a ‘red’-letter day of sorts for AMD, which looks to reclaim performance leadership in the graphics cards industry with its new flagship ATI Radeon HD 5970 graphics accelerator. Of all the products AMD has been working on over the past year, we bet this product won the most anticipation, since the “next big thing” from a company in the hardware industry often defines its market position, and competitiveness as a solution provider. The Radeon HD 5970 makes use of two AMD Cypress GPUs in an internal multi-GPU configuration. The accelerator is compliant with Microsoft DirectX 11, which forms one of the important features of the company’s Windows 7 operating system, and is a next-generation multimedia API. AMD Cypress on the other hand, with the recently launched Radeon HD 5800 series products, has established itself as the industry’s single most powerful graphics processor.
THERMALTAKE BLACX DUET DUAL HARD DRIVE DOCKING STATION
http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/thermaltake_blacx_duet_review/
Tasks like backing up files, transferring files, and formatting hard drives are all things I do quite frequently. Between testing out products for Tweaknews and tinkering with computers as a hobby, it’s pretty much a guarantee that I’m working with several drives at any given time. It’s not convenient to have to open up the computer case every time I want to access data on those drives, so external enclosures have been my solution for quite a while now.
Seagate FreeAgent DockStar Network Adapter
http://www.bigbruin.com/content/dockstar_1
Seagate has been one of the top hard drive manufacturers since they began shipping drives in 1956. Back then, the hard drives were extremely large in physical size, expensive and not very energy efficient. While Seagate still focuses on manufacturing hard drives, they have begun to offer other complimentary items such as digital media players, network attached storage devices, and docking stations for portable hard drives.
