"Zotac's Nitro is a clever little USB gadget that puts the overclocking power of your graphics card right at your finger tips. You can also monitor temperatures and adjust the fan speeds. The best is that all this can be done on the fly, without switching out of your game or benchmark."

"And that, in essence, is where the SSD rests today - as an expensive extravagance limited only to the most ludicrously high end PCs. While the Intel X25-M breaks the mould and proves SSDs can deliver not only phenomenally fast read, but also decent write performance, its price tag is sure to put all but the most opulent hardware enthusiast off.

Sadly the same can't be said for J-Micron based drives like the Patriot Warp v2 and G.Skill 128GB. While they deliver on the promise of significantly increased read speeds, the compromise on write speed makes them useless for all but the most specialist setups. While the price is a whole lot cheaper than the Intel, if you're looking to switch your boot drive over to an SSD you might as well not bother - the issues around drive stuttering and read/write performance in Vista 64-bit just make them more of a headache than a help, although they remain an option if you're considering a dedicated game install drive.

So where does this leave the SSD as a storage option? A long way from replacing mechanical drives is where. While Intel has unequivocally proven that the technology has legs and can perform, the price of such delights still sits far from the hands of mere mortals. While we've no doubt that SSD drive speeds will improve, capacities will increase and prices will drop in time, right now the SSD remains a desirable but expensive option that only the most wealthy should consider."

"Hiper have just released a very promising product, the M1000. Hiper claims that the M1000 is a very high performance 1kW unit regardless of the relatively low price of the product. Let us see how well the latest and most powerful Hiper PSU will perform."

"If you're like many small business owners, you panic and break out into a cold sweat, jump out of bed and race to the office, hoping that your employee was wrong and that the hard drive didn't really fail and that it was all a mistake. It's either that, or that it was all just a bad dream. Because if that hard drive really did fail and all of your data is gone, then your business is dead in the water. Data is priceless. But not everyone puts that much value on it.

There are some bosses though that will get that kind of phone call, roll over, and go back to sleep. Those are the kind of small business owners that know that their data is secure because they've chosen a NAS that not only offers them the speed that they need for better productivity, it also offers them the security that they need to protect their most valuable resource, their company data.

Thecus has introduced to the marketplace a network area storage device that can provide a means to protect that most valuable resource, data, be it for that small business owner or even the home user. The Thecus N4100PRO, a four bay NAS, offers increased performance, improved data throughput, and new RAID options that include RAID expansion and RAID level migration."

"The latest company to attack a HD 4800 series card is Palit and the particular model is the top dog from the ATI range, the HD 4870 X2. So, what has Palit done to the card to make it stand out from the rest?

Let’s jump forward a page to see what Palit has done with the package before we have a closer look at the card itself. From there we will strap the card into our brand spanking new X58 test bed to see exactly what it’s capable of. We’re expecting big numbers from this beast."

"As announced, nVIDIA presented new GTX260 with larger amount of Stream Processors. This is consequence of the facts that regular GTX260 didn't have expected performances levels and price was too high compared to similar products on the market. Simply put GTX260 was very fast but since Radeon HD 4870 had better performance/price ratio nVIDIA had to do something and as result we have GTX260+. Difference between GTX260 and GTX260+ is in 24 Stream Processors so GTX260 has 192 SP and GTX260+ has 216 SP. This time we got GTX260+ graphics card signed by XFX that belong to their Black Edition series."

"Today we are looking at the Philips amBX Premium kit. The first time we heard of amBX is was a large system that took advantage of the heating and cooling system in your home. Philips scaled the system back significantly and is now selling it as a speaker system for PC gamers. Read on for all of the details on the Philips amBX Premium Kit."

"The SouthWing SF605 Bluetooth car kit features a DSP for noise reduction and echo cancellation to make your calls sound crisp and clear. The full duplex 2-Watt speaker is designed to work well in even the noisiest of environments. We have seen Bluetooth speakerphones before and our hands-down favorite has been the BlueAnt Supertooth 3. The Supertooth 3 was an excellent performer and the speaker and noise reduction system were great. Let’s see if SouthWing’s SF605 can be crowned the new king..."

"You know you're in for a treat right from the moment that you press the power button the ASUS Lamborghini VX3 and hear the sound of a Lamborghini engine purring."

"Despite the capabilities to satisfy even the most hardcore gamer, the G71 is just as adept at running resource intensive Windows Vista applications, such as image and video-editing programs. If you're looking for a truly dedicated gaming experience within a highly portable package, this badboy is just the ticket. In fact, we'd go so far as to say it's one of the best overall gaming laptops on the planet - especially considering ASUS' aggressive pricing. Alienware still has the upper hand in terms of raw power and customisation (the G71 can't be customised with CrossFire graphics cards or solid state drives for instance), but as an overall package the G71 it is hard to beat. It even runs so cool and quietly that you'll hardly notice it's even on! Our only disappointment is lack of support for nVidia's flagship GeForce 9800M GTX graphics chipset."

"Power Supplies are one of the more mundane upgrades to a PC as all it really does is make sure everything else runs properly. It's important but not exciting. That's why it's always nice to test something from a relatively new manufacturer on the scene. Today we're looking at the AXP Supernova units in 800w and 1000w. Let's see how they get on."

"Looking for a set of computer speakers that are compact, but still loud enough to blow you away? Are you a audiophile that really wants to hear your music while at the office? Look no further. Today JasonD takes a look at the Altec Lansing SoundBar. Featuring XdB bass technology, the SoundBar is definitely something to check out."

"Grand Theft Auto was a big seller on the consoles earlier this year and deservedly so ... It told the story of immigrant Niko Bellic's adventures through the crime infested Liberty City. The PC version is upon us now and there are some new additions, including support for 32 multiplayer matches and an editor for making and recording clips from your in game sessions."

"Antec makes superb computer cases for all types of situations. One of the latest markets of custom cases is the entertainment PC. There are specific requirements for a PC that fits with a home theater setup including good cooling and a small A/V form factor. Antec has a new case called the Micro Fusion Remote 350 which targets this exact market."

"Join Matt as we look at the NZXT Tempest Enthusiast Steel Mid Tower Computer Chassis. With a professional look that can fit anywhere, youre sure to intimidate others with the very presence of this case. Lets stand back and watch as Matt puts this case to the TechwareLabs test."

"The USB emulation also works perfectly - we have not had any issues with the keyboard or mouse in normal use or while benchmarking - no more USB attach/detach sounds to be heard here. Because emulation begins as soon as the system is turned on, you don't even have to "select" each system while it is booting up - it will come up to windows perfectly without issue. Speaking of hearing, the audio and microphone connections were also flawless and the ability to listen to audio from one system while using another worked as expected.

KVMs aren't usually a topic of conversation in these parts, but when a product makes me nearly weep with joy, I can't help but share it with the world. The new dual-link capable Belkin SOHO KVM is the answer to many user's PC habits!"

"In time for holiday shopping spree Sparkle launches a custom Geforce 9800 GTX+ which features onboard HDMI and a silent GPU cooling. Can it run the latest games fluently? We test twelve on them to find out..."

"Today we are taking a look at another Ace product, this time we got a keyboard on the test bench. Will this work well together with the Ace mouse we reviewed a few days ago? How will this keyboard work vs Logitech and Microsoft keyboards that have been dominating the market for a longer period? Let's have a closer look to see what we can come up with."

"The new MX series of power supplies from BFG features a modular cabling system, one 120-mm fan and one 80-mm fan that only kicks in when the temperature on the secondary heatsink is above 50º C. Let's see if the 550 W model (MX-550 or BFGI550WMXPSU) is a good product."

"While we like to look at all the high-end motherboards at TweakTown, we also like to focus on some of the smaller, more budget oriented choices that come to the scene. It’s not the large enthusiast based hardware that manages to make it into the average mainstream or HT PC and you won’t find any ATX boards in car PC’s or project PC’s, it’s most always the mini that gets all the action.

Today we have something you may not consider for your desktop PC, but more for the digital setup unit or a car PC. MSI has sent us their Industrial IM-945GSE-A Mini-ITX board to see just what we can get out of it."

"From a performance standpoint, the MSI DKA790GX performed on par with the 790FX in a stock speed scenario. Overclocking tells a different tale as the 790GX was a very good overclocker. The new SB750 South Bridge is a lot more stable in this department and for those of you looking to squeeze more out of their CPU, you will want to think about this if you’re due for a motherboard upgrade."

"The Asus My Cinema-U3100 has only delighted me. It does what it is designed to do perfectly, unobstructed with any errors during operation. The fact that it uses USB is extremely handy since it can be used in virtually any computer, and is also portable. It also means that no tools are required to use this device. Since the coaxial adapter is flexible, it helps to relieve tension from thick coaxial cables - which helps keep the tuner from being knocked out from the USB port. The TotalMedia software works great, and is very simple and easy to follow - it is very intuitive. The only downfall of this tuner is that it is limited in use until ATSC is enforced in 2009 (2011 for Canada). But when that time comes, this gem will shine even more!"

"The installation of the power supply however, is also where I ran into another design flaw. A missing feature that enthusiast cases require, especially one with a see through panel. The pre-installed wires were well managed but the options ended there, APlus left no room behind the motherboard tray for wires to be hidden nor anywhere else in the case. I ended up doing my best to hide the wires in the empty drive bays. The optical drives slid into place easily but the front door has a flat back making it so that no drives with rounded fronts will fit. The hard drive system is really simple, you pop the hard drive in to a little drawer/tray and slide it into the case. I was a little afraid to bend the tray enough so that the drive would snap into place but the plastic is very flexible so it worked without a hitch and when I got the drive in it did not jiggle around at all, a very good sign."

"On the test bench today, we have Gigabyte's latest Micro ATX offering, the Intel G45-based EG45M-DS2H. This board carries the typical Gigabyte enthusiast charm, but also caters towards those looking to build a media center. But how does it stack up against the other Intel mATX boards we've tested recently?"

"For those who missed it, the HD4870 X2 is essentially two HD4870s operating in Crossfire mode, albeit on a single card. And as if the original wasn't already huge enough, Palit has super-sized the HD4870 x2. What it calls the Revolution R700 Deluxe takes up a grand total of 3 slots."