OCZ ReaperX DDR2-800 4GB & Kingston Hyper X DDR2-1066 2GB Review
Driver Heaven posted a review on the OCZ ReaperX DDR2-800 4GB & Kingston Hyper X DDR2-1066 2GB memory modules

The DDR2 memory market currently has two major options for consumers using the latest CPUs. Consumers can either go for 2 GB kits of speeds up to 1066MHz, which are priced quite reasonably or 4 GB kits of DDR2-800 with tighter timings. What difference does this make to the latest CPUs and which option should the consumer go for when seeking the best performance?

Today we are pitting 4GB of OCZ's ReaperX DDR2-800 against 2 GB of Kingston HyperX DDR2-1066 in an attempt to answer the above question.

OCZ ReaperX DDR2-800 4GB & Kingston Hyper X DDR2-1066 2GB Review

Keyboards with Backlit Keys roundup
Tom's Guide posted a roundup of four backlit keyboards

I looked at four backlit keyboards from one from Ideazon (Merc Stealth), two from Microsoft (Razer Reclusa and Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000) and one from Saitek (Eclipse II).

In addition to finding the best of the new crop of backlit keyboards, I had hoped to modify the LEDs in at least one of the keyboards for use by a blind friend. That project is still on hold, but here is my take on the keyboards I tested for use by people without visual impairment.

Keyboards with Backlit Keys roundup



Nexus HXR-5500 Heat Pipe Memory Cooler Review
HardwareXL posted a review on the Nexus HXR-5500 Heat Pipe Memory Cooler

With these memory heat spreaders with heat-pipe you improve the dissipation of the heat your memory chips are producing. Less heat means a more stable operation and less fatal errors. These Nexus memory heat spreaders with heat-pipe technology are now available in three colors, black, aluminum, and blue.

Nexus HXR-5500 Heat Pipe Memory Cooler Review

BFG Tech 800 Watt Power Supply Review
HardwareLogic.com posted a review on the BFG Tech 800 Watt Power Supply

If you have never heard of BFG technologies, you have probably been living under a rock (which is good, we all need to get outdoors more often). BFG is a privately held US based company best known for their NVIDIA and Ageia based graphics cards. As one might expect, they are a gamer focused company (their slogan is "The Gamer's Choice!"). Graphic cards are not their only product however, and BFG carries a product line ranging from mousepads to motherboards, and in a place in between, they also carry power supplies.

Today we get a chance to check out one of BFG's PSUs in the form of an 800 watt unit. BFG technologies touts its 800 watt power supply as perfect for a /"...gamer running dual PCI Express graphics cards, or a PC enthusiast building a killer system with tons of power-hungry components/." They back that with a lifetime 24/7 warranty. Among the features of the BFG 800 watt PSU are quad 12V rails and "Silent Control Technology" for quiet operation. Does this 800 watt monster represent? Let's find out!

BFG Tech 800 Watt Power Supply Review

HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX LE Review
The Guru of 3D posted a review on the HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX

Shortly after the release of the reference Radeon HD 3850/3870 cards HiS Technology adapted another line of these cards, as well .. they'll sell really well as the one thing that AMD did good last year was releasing the 3850/3870 line of products.

In their very successful product line HIS always releases their ICEQ version of their graphics cards. Today reviewed product is hot .. in a good way. It's a Radeon HD 3850 colored with a blue PCB, a ICEQ3 cooler slapped on top of it .. and they pre-overclocked it to match the Radeon HD 3870 performance level and then call it the TurboX edition. Bit is it any good ?

HIS Radeon HD 3850 IceQ 3 TurboX LE Review

Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU Cooler Review
DragonSteelMods.com posted a review on the Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU Cooler

Thermalright is a well known provider of quality thermal products and it's been awhile since we've taken a look at any Thermalright CPU Coolers here at DragonSteelMods so I'm happy to be bringing you the Ultima 90 for review today. The Ultima 90 is a now familiar heatpipe style CPU cooler, but what makes the Ultima 90 special is its size, compared to most other tower heatpipe coolers out there today this thing is tiny. So with this review I can finally answer the age old question: Does size matter?

Read on to find out...

Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU Cooler Review

BackupPC (Open Source) Review
ASE Labs posted a review on BackupPC

Many articles written on this site and others tell you how important it is to keep information backed up. Right now you are using your computer. Do you feel comfortable if a power surge zaps your hard drive or your hard drive in general decides to die? Even if you answered yes, it is always helpful to inspect a new tool. BackupPC is free and open source. It runs on Linux and there are probably repos to download it for your distribution. Don't let that fool you. BackupPC can save many different workstations including WinXX all the way to anything that runs rsyncd.

BackupPC (Open Source) Review

Saitek GH30 Vibration Headset Review
3DXtreme.net posted a review on the Saitek GH30 Vibration Headset.

The Saitek GH30 Headset has been a great product for me. The one issue I would have with it is the vibration bass. I don't feel as though the effect does much. I've owned a set of vibration bass headphones a few years back and the vibration was very noticeable. However, with the GH30s I don't really notice a difference. The GH30s sound decent and the integrated microphone is great for gamers that use voice chat software. The GH30s would also come in very handy for anyone that uses voice recognition software. At $40 I feel the GH30s justify the price - most headsets with a microphone are pretty cheap and sound like garbage. These bridge that gap...

Saitek GH30 Vibration Headset Review

HP Blackbird 002 LC Gaming System Review
PC Perspective published a review on the HP Blackbird 002 LC Gaming System

As we mentioned several times in the review, even with all the fancy chassis design, the Blackbird 002 system is 100% upgradeable should you decide to modify it. The motherboard is completely accessible, as are the hard drives, video cards power supply. The CPU is a bit more of a hassle with its water cooling configuration but you can still remove the water block and replace the CPU with some patience.

HP Blackbird 002 LC Gaming System Review

Vizo Voyager Review
XSReviews has reviewed the Vizo Voyager HDD cooler

Vizo pride themselves on making efficient, economical and stylish cooling and storage products. Today, I have something that fits into the former of those categories, the Vizo Voyager. It's designed to straddle your HDD and keep it chilled with 2 small fans. Is it up to the task? Let's find out.

Vizo Voyager Review

Asus EN8800GT TOP Geforce 8800GT 512MB Videocard Review
PC Stats posted Asus EN8800GT TOP Geforce 8800GT 512MB Videocard Review

For the latest games you need a killer fast DirectX10 compliant videocard and a computer loaded with Windows Vista. Enter ASUS and a very strong contender for your cash - the PCI Express x16 ASUS EN8800GT TOP/G/HTDP/512M/A videocard. GeForce 8800GT-class videocards tend to overclock well, so it's no surprise that many come pre-overclocked from the factory floor. The Asus EN8800GT TOP videocard is tweaked to 700 MHz core and 1000 MHz memory, up from the default 600 MHz core / 900 MHz memory settings. Heck it's even faster than a Geforce 8800GTS's 650 MHz core and 970 MHz default clock speed! Oh Asus, how you spoil us gamers!

Asus EN8800GT TOP Geforce 8800GT 512MB Videocard Review

Noctua NF-P12 Cooling Fan Review
APH Networks posted a review on the Noctua NF-P12 Cooling Fan

After discussing our ideal Christmas gift, it's now time for the first review published in 2008 (Although we did start writing on December 27, 2007, just in case you were wondering. What took so long? Obviously all the partying!) -- the Noctua NF-P12 high pressure cooling fan. I've been looking for a new fan for my heatsink for quite a while now. When Noctua, well known for their high quality, high performance, and low noise fans released their NF-P12 fan designed specifically for applications with high air resistance such as heatsinks, it got me quite excited. How well would this fan perform, and how quiet is it really? As a self-proclaimed quiet PC enthusiast, let's take a look at the Noctua NF-P12 today and see if it's by any chance what we have been looking for for quite a while.

Noctua NF-P12 Cooling Fan Review

Silverstone OP1200 1200W Power Supply Review
3D Game Man posted a review on the Silverstone OP1200 1200W Power Supply

The Silverstone Olympia line of power supplies are available in wattages ranging from 650 to 1200. I'll be reviewing the Silverstone OP1200 1200W model which is more than enough power for even hardcore computer systems. The housing is steel and they include a very quiet 135mm fan which is recessed, but this PSU is extremely long so it might not fit in some smaller mid-tower cases. Also note that this fan is load controlled, meaning the more load on the PSU the faster the fan spins. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end.

Silverstone OP1200 1200W Power Supply Review

Creative ZEN Vision:M Media Player Review
TechDomain posted Creative ZEN Vision:M Media Player Review

These days, those who don't own an MP3 player are somewhat becoming the minority. Boasting more accessories than an R&B artist, MP3 players are becoming quite a fashion statement. We require these portable jukeboxes to be stylish, light weight, and attrictive, whilst giving us the envy of all our friends. When most people think MP3 players, they think iSomethings... Thats a bit to obvious, lets try *Pods. Whilst the *Pod might have the majority of the market share, there are other players on the market, such as iRiver, Samsung or Creative. Heir in lies the question; are the compeditors offerings are as good if not better than the market leader?

Creative ZEN Vision:M Media Player Review

GeForce 8800 GT Round-Up: Asus, EVGA, MSI
HotHardware.com posted a GeForce 8800 GT Round-Up

As you all know, availability is still tight for the GeForce 8800 GT, but we thought it was time to round a few cards up for a benchmark fest. We've got factory-overclocked GeForce 8800 GT cards from Asus, EVGA, and MSI in house, the EN8800GT TOP, the e-GeForce 8800 GT KO, and the NX8800GT, respectively. At their most basic level, all three of these cards are quite similar, but each company does put their own spin on the GeForce 8800 GT in an effort to differentiate their product from the competition. Which one does the best job remains to be seen. Come on by the site and check them out...

GeForce 8800 GT Round-Up: Asus, EVGA, MSI

GlacialTech IGLOO 5610 Series CPU Cooler Review
TweakTown posted a review on the GlacialTech IGLOO 5610 Series CPU Cooler

The GlacialTech IGLOO 5610 Series is much like the 5710 Series we looked at just a few days ago, two identical heatsinks with the choice of fan as the variable that makes up the Silent and PWM versions. The 5710 we looked at featured three heatpipes, and the 5610 we will be testing today only has two.

The specifications for the 5610 is lower than that of the 5710 so we are not going to be looking at stellar performance numbers, but honestly how low can a product line go. The 5710 were not great performers and border the low end of what a modern day CPU should use for aftermarket cooling performance. With that said though, let’s have a look at the specs and see if the GlacialTech 5610 can surprise us.

GlacialTech IGLOO 5610 Series CPU Cooler Review

Silverstone MS05 - 2.5 docking station Review
XtremeComputing posted a review on the Silverstone MS05 - 2.5 docking station

For this review I will be looking at a product from the highly respected pc hardware manufacturer SilverStone. The product up for review is in fact a hard drive caddy / enclosure, not a typical 3½” caddy this is a sleek caddy for a 2½” drive and as a bonus it comes with a docking station, it is the MS05 from SilverStone. All will be revealed in the review.

Silverstone MS05 - 2.5 docking station Review

Aeneon XTune DDR3 1333 2 x 1GB PC-10666 Review
OCC has published a new review of the Aeneon XTune DDR3 1333 2 x 1GB PC-10666

The Aeneon XTune modules were a surprise. Even with the looser latencies the modules were competitive in many of the benchmarks, even taking the top score in PCMark Vantage. At the stock 1.5 volts required to run 8-8-8-15 latencies, the modules were capable of running tighter latencies. At 1333MHz I was able to reduce the timings to 8-7-6-15 and gain some memory performance in the benchmarks I ran. At the reduced latencies the memory performance was on par with the other modules tested. Once the memory speeds started to climb, the timings had to be loosened up.

Aeneon XTune DDR3 1333 2 x 1GB PC-10666 Review