High-end graphics card roundup
NordicHardware takes a look at the high-end graphics card segment of today.

The graphics card market is alive and kicking, and the last two years have been quite exciting. The clock frequencies have gone through the roof, more shaders have been implemented, the manufacturing processes have been refined and the power consumption, and thus the heat dissipation, has been going up and down like a sinus wave.

High-end graphics card roundup

Asus EN9600GT (NVIDIA 9600GT) TOP 512MB Review
APH Networks has published a new review on the Asus EN9600GT (NVIDIA 9600GT) TOP 512MB video card

It's mostly been like this: This generation's performance graphics cards are next generation's midrange series. For NVIDIA, it has been like that for the NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT, 7600GT, well, and less so for the 8600GT and 8600GTS; and so to say today we'll be looking at the successor to the less than appreciated 8600 series -- the 9600GT. NVIDIA's 9600GT has been launched for more than a couple weeks now, and we've finally gotten our hands on Asus' newly modified version of the 9600GT -- the Asus EN9600GT TOP 512MB with a special cooler. As usual, the 'TOP' suffix from Asus signifies that it's overclocked (Usually pretty aggressively too) out of the box. How well will the 9600GT step up against the ATI Radeon 3870 and NVIDIA's own 8800GT? Better yet, we've even got all the fastest factory overclocked cards to test against each other in our review today. Let's get right to it and see if the 9600GT takes the midrange performance crown and how much bang you get for your buck.

Asus EN9600GT (NVIDIA 9600GT) TOP 512MB Review



Point of View GeForce 9800 GTX 512 Review
The Guru of 3D posted a review on the Point of View GeForce 9800 GTX 512 video card

Today is the day that NVIDIA launches it's GeForce 9800 GTX series of graphics cards.

A respin product series aimed at the enthusiast gamer, that is what the 9800 GTX is all about. Minor tweaks, some improvement, pretty equal to GeForce 8800 GTX performance is what the 9800 GTX is all about. So what's so hot about the GeForce 9800 GTX you ask ? The price .. expect a 249-299 EUR / 299-349 USD sales price.

Point of View GeForce 9800 GTX 512 Review

Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX video card

Today NVIDIA launches their new GeForce 9800 GTX cards. Like many products in the GeForce 8 Series they are based on the G92 graphics processor. This is also the reason why there are no real technological innovations on this $299 card.

Zotac GeForce 9800 GTX Review

XFX 9800GTX Review
OCC has published a new review of the XFX 9800GTX

One thing the XFX 9800GTX does really well is overclock. Finding the highest GPU core and memory clocks individually results in higher clock speeds, but the idea is to find the area where the two work well together and don't crash the application and driver. 842MHz on the GPU core and 1280MHz on the memory with the shader clocks just a hair over 2100MHz results in a nice performance boost. Overclocking the GPU core while leaving the memory at the stock 1100MHz resulted in a core clock speed of 862MHz. Overclocking the memory with the GPU core clock at the stock 675MHz resulted in a memory clock speed of 1288MHz. Unfortunately, I could not manage to boost both clockspeeds to their independent maximums. But the final results are more than I was expecting after the 8800GTs that I have worked with.

XFX 9800GTX Review

XFX 9800GTX 512MB Review
Bjorn3D takes a look at the XFX 9800GTX 512MB video card

Today, April 1, 2008 less than two weeks since the 9800GX2 became reality, the 9800GTX is born. We at Bjorn3D are honored to have the opportunity to review XFX's version of the 9800GTX. The biggest question we asked ourselves before beginning this review was, is there a large enough void between the aforementioned cards to warrant the introduction of an entirely new card? Stick around we'll have the answer to this and hopefully many other of your questions in short order.

XFX 9800GTX 512MB Review

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX preview
Elite Bastards posted their NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX preview

This brings us to those clock speed differences, and the one point of interest for the vast majority of users away from 3-way SLI support. With a reference GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB sporting a core clock of 650MHz and a shader clock of 1625MHz, we find that the GeForce 9800 GTX only offers a very small boost in these areas, with a reference part utilising a 675MHz core clock and a shader clock of 1688MHz - Hardly earth shattering stuff. Memory clocks fare a little better, with the GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB's 970MHz memory clock surpassed by the use of 512MB of 1.1GHz (2.2GHz effective) GDDR3 modules.

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX preview

9800 GTX/X2 and 3870 Roundup
DriverHeaven posted 9800 GTX/X2 and 3870 Roundup

No, its not an April's fools joke, today we have yet another launch from Nvidia, the new 9800 GTX which is set to replace the 8800 GTX of old. Not content with just reviewing the new GTX however we have several new GX2's as well as a kick ass new Asus 3870 X2 in our test labs today.

9800 GTX/X2 and 3870 Roundup

ZOGIS 9800GTX Review
OCC has published a new review of the ZOGIS 9800GTX

The ZOGIS 9800GTX was a beast when it came to overclocking. I was able to overclock the stock GPU clock of 675MHz all the way up to 823MHz! A 148MHz overclock is quite good if you ask me. I was also able to get the stock memory clock of 1100MHz all the way up to 1274MHz - a 174MHz increase. The shader clock was stock at 1688MHz, but I was able to bring it up to 2001MHz. The core clock was able to go higher, but the memory kept having to go down, so these numbers are the absolute highest that I could get for all three of the variables. I've never overclocked any other video card nearly this much in all of my years of overclocking. I'm thoroughly impressed with the ZOGIS 9800GTX's overclocking ability.

ZOGIS 9800GTX Review

Asus EN9800GTX performance preview and pictures
Overclock3D have just published a new article titled Asus EN9800GTX performance preview and pictures.

The full review is on the way but we think it would be rude not to give you a quick sneak peak at some numbers and pictures!

Asus EN9800GTX performance preview and pictures

EVGA e-GeForce 9800 GTX Review
NVNews posted a review on the EVGA e-GeForce 9800 GTX video card

And the GeForce 9800 GTX? In summary, after having tested the GeForce 9800 GTX under Windows XP, I will state that it performs on par with the previous generation GeForce 8800 GTX. That is until its 512MB of video memory (VRAM) becomes exhausted. Although not necessarily a drawback, it is a consideration that the informed consumer needs to realize before making a purchase - especially when two (SLI) or three (3-way SLI) graphics cards are being considered.

EVGA e-GeForce 9800 GTX Review

XFX and Palit GeForce 9800 GTX Video Cards Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on GeForce 9800 GTX Video Cards from XFX and Palit

Video cards are launching left and right these days and it’s been a confusing time for many consumers. Trying to tell people that many of the latest GeForce 8 series cards have the same core as the GeForce 9 series isn’t an easy thing to do. To complicate things even more, NVIDIA has been reducing the frame buffer size on the latest video cards. This is not only confusing to consumers, but the media as well. Today is no different, so sit back and we will try to walk you through what is going on with the GeForce 9800 GTX!

XFX and Palit GeForce 9800 GTX Video Cards Review

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX Round-Up: BFG, EVGA, Zogis
HotHardware.com posted their NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX Round-Up

NVIDIA is officially taking the wraps off of their new GeForce 9800 GTX card today. With its predecessor, the GeForce 8800 GTX's, excellent pedigree the new GeForce 9800 GTX certainly has some pretty big shoes to fill. Its name alone will make many users assume the GeForce 9800 GTX is NVIDIA's new flagship single GPU powered graphics card. And technically it is. But we all know what happens when people assume.

Thankfully, there's no longer a need to make any assumptions. We've got a trio of GeForce 9800 GTX cards in-house from NVIDIA's partners BFG, EVGA, and Zogis and have put them to the test with some of today's popular games running at XHD resolutions in single card, SLI, and 3-Way SLI configurations. Head on over to the site and take a look...

NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX Round-Up: BFG, EVGA, Zogis

Sapphire HD 3870 TOXIC Edition Review
Modders-Inc.com has a new review online on the Sapphire HD 3870 TOXIC Edition

Sapphire is always trying to figure out how to out do itself with their graphic cards and this holds true with the HD3870. Once they take a card and kick it up a notch or two they brand it with the now familiar Toxic label. Does the Sapphire HD3870 Toxic Edition live up to it namesakes?

Sapphire HD 3870 TOXIC Edition Review

XFX 9800 GTX Review
Neoseeker takes a look at the XFX 9800 GTX

In the end, the rest of NVIDIA's current line-up is the 9800GTX's own worst enemy, but it can not be denied that the while perhaps not as exciting as the 8800GTX was, the 9800GTX is a worthy successor to that 'old' performance crown, and while perhaps it is not as ground-breaking in its design, the 9800GTX is still a damn fine piece of engineering, with enough positive features to leave a lasting impression.

XFX 9800 GTX Review

Tuniq Ensemble ENS-1200W-BK 1200w PSU Review
TweakTown posted a review on the Tuniq Ensemble ENS-1200W-BK 1200w PSU

Being a relatively new company, many may not have heard of Tuniq. A subsidiary of Sunbeam, these folks are in the business of creating cooling solutions, enclosures and power supplies. We have looked at some of their offerings in this last category before and have been impressed with what is offered, but this time around they have dipped into the realm of the power user.

With so many choices in the high-end power supply arena, we will delve deeper to see if the folks at Tuniq have a winning solution on their hands. We’ll look at what is offered in the area of available power, look at feature sets and of course thrash it around for about a week to look for any instances of instability.

Tuniq Ensemble ENS-1200W-BK 1200w PSU Review

Rosewill RX81-MP-SC External 3.5" SATA Enclosure Review
EXTREME Overclocking has just published a review on the Rosewill RX81-MP-SC External 3.5" SATA Enclosure.

There are so many hard drive enclosures out on the market today that it can be a tough decision on which model is right for you. We've reviewed several enclosures in the past, and while all perform their function, the Rosewill RX81-MP-SC certainly does it in style. Featuring USB 2.0, FireWire 400 & 800, and eSATA connections, the Rosewill enclosure offers supreme versatility.

Rosewill RX81-MP-SC External 3.5" SATA Enclosure Review

RAID and Gaming Performance
TechwareLabs has published an analysis of RAID and Gaming Performance.

Today we take another look at Raid as it applies to gaming. Does using a Raid array benefit FPS, game loading, and level loading? We attempt to answerthese questions and put them into the perspective of price vs performance under a single drive, two drive, and four drive scenarios. If you want blazing transfer rates and enhanced system performance then Raid may well be a good otion for you.

RAID and Gaming Performance

NVIDIA (BFG) GeForce 9800 GTX Review
HEXUS.net posted a review on the NVIDIA (BFG) GeForce 9800 GTX video card

Expecting monumental performance increases from the GeForce 9800 GTX? You may well be disappointed.

NVIDIA (BFG) GeForce 9800 GTX Review

Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC Case Review
Mikhailtech posted a review on the Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC Case

Sunbeam, well known for their fascination with acrylic and lights, shipped us their new Acrylic HTPC with, you guessed it, more lights! Building a case is serious business, especially when dealing with enthusiast hardware. Some of the design considerations include good cable management, good airflow with clean air, room for plenty of hard drives, quiet, and let's not forget aesthetics! This is quite a large list! Let's take a look at Sunbeam's work at how they incorporated all of these considerations.

Sunbeamtech Acrylic HTPC Case Review

BFG 9800 GTX Video Card Review
I4U NEWS reviews the new BFG 9800 GTX Video Card

Today NVIDIA launched the new 9800 GTX graphics card and we are having a look at the BFG 9800 GTX. This card sells for a bit under $300 and has great performance. The BFG 9800 GTX has impressive performance at a price of around $299. BFG doesn't bundle a game with its 9800 GTX like some of the other NVIDIA card partners do. However, that doesn't take away from the performance of the BFG 9800 GTX at all. The BFG 9800 GTX is simply a fantastic performance.

BFG 9800 GTX Video Card Review

Thermaltake BlacX SATA HD docking station Review
3DXtreme.net posted a review on the Thermaltake BlacX SATA HD docking station

Today at 3DXtreme we take a look at a new product from Thermaltake that I think will generate some interest with external storage junkies. It is the BlacX and it's an external hard drive dock. It promises to make life easier for some of us storage freaks maybe even revive the hard drive as a storage media on par with the CD or DVD. What makes this dock so interesting? Let's find out...

Thermaltake BlacX SATA HD docking station Review

XFX 9800 GTX Graphics Card Review
I4U NEWS reviews the new XFX 9800 GTX Graphics Card

Today we are looking at a second of the new NVIDIA 9800 GTX graphics cards. The card up for review now is the XFX 9800 GTX. This card shares virtually the same specifications with the BFG 9800 GTX we looked at before. In the end the XFX 9800 GTX was so close in performance to the BFG 9800 GTX that it was a dead heat. This is to be expected since the cards are identical save the stickers on their heatsinks. What does set the XFX card apart from the BFG card is the fact that XFX includes a game with their offering. XFX provides the full version of Company of Heroes. Too bad the 9800 GTX doesn't include Call of Duty 4 like the 9600 GT XXX Alpha Dog does.

XFX 9800 GTX Graphics Card Review

Eagle Tech I-Series Dual SATA HDD USB Enclosure Review
Madshrimps posted a review on the Eagle Tech I-Series Dual SATA HDD USB Enclosure

Eagle Tech I-Series dual hard-drive enclosure in JBOD setup looks appealing with two face plates and a rear fan for the tough job.

Eagle Tech I-Series Dual SATA HDD USB Enclosure Review

Thermaltake BlacX SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station Review
PC Stats posted Thermaltake BlacX SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station Review

The Thermaltake BlacX is a neat little USB-based hard drive docking station that fills a gap left vacant by removable hard drive racks and external hard drive enclosure systems. The small black box is free standing, but does require a DC power supply to function. It supports a single 3.5" SATA desktop or 2.5" SATA notebook hard drive at a time. Data is transferred to the computer via a 480Mbps USB 2.0 cable included in the package.

Thermaltake BlacX SATA Hard Drive USB Docking Station Review

Asus 9800 GTX 512MB EN9800GTX Review
Overclock3D have just published a new article titled Asus 9800 GTX 512MB EN9800GTX.

Nvidia launches the 9800 GTX to a baying crowd. Is it worth the GTX moniker that the 8800 GTX has rightly made famous? Take a look inside..
Asus 9800 GTX 512MB EN9800GTX Review

ATI HD 2400 XT 256MB Video Card Reviewed
TheTechLounge reviewed the ATI HD 2400 XT 256MB Video Card

It's hard to believe, but there are actually many people who don't want the trappings, and cost, of gaming hardware. Integrated graphics aren't always an option and, when they are, they use precious system resources that, for only a little extra cash, can be un-tethered. Which is exactly what an entry-level video card is supposed to do. They're not intended to play video games, and their 3D processing capacity is misleading. Good enough doesn't mean gaming; it's about low power consumption and decent features. So, for those of you looking for "good enough," is this vanilla HD 2400 XT it? Or does it come up short where it counts?

ATI HD 2400 XT 256MB Video Card Reviewed

Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 OC Edition Video Card Review
ThinkComputers.org posted a review on the Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 OC Edition Video Card

Hong Kong-based Sapphire has been in the industry for a while, manufacturing primarily video cards and motherboard chipsets. It's the largest supplier of ATI-based cards in the world, and was the first to release a card with an HDMI connector. ThinkComputers got its hands on Sapphire's Radeon HD 3650 OC Edition, a faster, more spacious version of the mid-range card from the red team. We subject this card to a battery of tests to see how it measures up to one of the best the green team-nVidia-has to offer.

Sapphire Radeon HD 3650 OC Edition Video Card Review

Intel's Ultra-Portable Atom: Unveiled
HotHardware.com posted an article on Intel's new Ultra-Portable Atom platform

Intel is formally announcing a brand new processor today that it hopes will drive the next generation of mobile Internet devices. Intel's new platform for MIDs is called Menlow. And whereas the previous generation McCaslin platform was found in ultra low-voltage notebooks, Menlow is the processor and chipset combination you'll find in future navigation devices, Internet tablets, video players, and gaming handhelds. From here on out you won't hear Intel calling the platform by its internal name, though. The official brand is Centrino Atom and we've got all the details available right here...

Intel's Ultra-Portable Atom: Unveiled

Nesteq ECS 7001 700 Watt Power Supply Review
OCIA.net has posted their review of the Nesteq ECS 7001 700 Watt Power Supply.

Wouldn't it be cool to be able to build your own cable? A modular-designed power cable, that allows you to use only the connectors you need, in the order that you need them? Nesteq has answered that call with their ECS series of power supplies. Today we will be looking at the Nesteq ECS 7001, a modular 700 watter that allows you to do just this.

Nesteq ECS 7001 700 Watt Power Supply Review

GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6 DDR3 Motherboard Review
TweakTown posted a review on the GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6 DDR3 Motherboard

X38/X48 chipsets are the first chipsets to come out with true split PCI Express architecture. This time they are both running a 16/16 configuration. Added to this is the fact they are running PCI-E 2.0 specs as well as being XMP memory module ready; we now have a good overall platform. X48 adds to the already impressive array of features the X38 has along with much better overclocking support and official support for the 1600MHz FSB.

Today we have GIGABYTE’s new X48 based board with DDR3 memory support. Following the naming lines, anything with DDR3 support gets a “T” added to the name, so today we have the GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6. This is GIGABYTE’s top of the range high performance board. How will it stack up against our already tested MSI X48 Platinum and ASUS’ P5E3 Premium WiFi? - Let’s get down to it and find out!

GIGABYTE X48T-DQ6 DDR3 Motherboard Review

ECS A780GM-A Review
OCC has published a new review of the ECS A780GM-A

Overclocking with the ECS A780GM-A was a challenge. I started off in the BIOS by lowering the Hyper Threading Frequency a bit and upping the the CPU speed to 210MHz, which would be an effective 2.415GHz (210x11.5) with a voltage increase to 1.4v. Even with just little bit, the computer would not boot without blue screening. I lowered the memory speed down and I was able to get into the OS, but only for a few seconds before the Blue Screen showed its ugly head again. Since the BIOS does not allow you to change the multiplier, I was at a loss. I then thought about AMD Overdrive. Even with AMD Overdrive, any addition to the CPU speed, no matter what I changed, the system would freeze and reboot. I finally was able to get the system stable by changing the multiplier in AMD Overdrive to 13.5x, dropping the Hyper Threading multiplier to 8x, and keeping the CPU speed at 200MHz for a 2.7GHz overclock @ 1.36v. The downfall is I had to decrease the memory clock speeds to 800MHz to keep the system stable, but I was able to tighten the timings to 5-4-4-12, which gave me a pretty good overclock in the Scientific Benchmarks.

ECS A780GM-A Review

ASUS EN8800GTS TOP 512MB Review
Techgage published a review of ASUS' 8800 GTS 512 graphics card.

NVIDIA's 9-series might be brand-new, but the 8-series should not be overlooked. Most 8800 GTS 512 cards cost less than the 9800 GTX, and can be easily overclocked to overpower it. In the case of this pre-overclocked ASUS card, the 9800 GTX doesn't have a fighting chance.

ASUS EN8800GTS TOP 512MB Review

Yoggie Firestick Pico - Security via USB Review
XtremeComputing posted a review on the Yoggie Firestick Pico security USB mini-computer

The Firestick Pico is a portable USB mini-computer that replaces your software Firewall and protects your computer from malicious attacks before they can reach your PC. The Firestick Pico places a physical barrier between PCs and the Internet to ensure that threats never reach users’ computers. Unlike software firewalls, the Firestick Pico is based on a dedicated hardware platform.

Yoggie Firestick Pico - Security via USB Review

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2Gig PC2-8500 1066Mhz DDR2 Memory Kit Review
Tweaknews posted a review on the Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2Gig PC2-8500 1066Mhz DDR2 Memory Kit

After witnessing the excellent overclocking potential from this memory, it is hard to wrap your brain around the fact that this memory costs less than US$100 for a 2 Gig kit. It's cheap, it's stable, it's incredibly overclockable and for garnish has its interesting LED illumination to light up your gaming case.

Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2Gig PC2-8500 1066Mhz DDR2 Memory Kit Review

Cooler Master Centurion 590 system chassis review
Elite Bastards posted a review on the Cooler Master Centurion 590 system chassis

The first thing of note here is that the Centurion 590 doesn't feature a removable motherboard tray - Although the chassis still has a fair amount of space to work in, its smaller overall size compared to a case such as the Cosmos S means that things are inevitably a little more cramped, which is where that removable tray would have come in handy.

As per the Cosmos, the power supply in this chassis is installed at the bottom of the case - However, unlike its big brother, there's no dust filter provided where the PSU fan is designed to exhaust from the bottom of the chassis, leaving it in danger of picking up all kinds of dirt and the like. Definitely one to watch when it comes to maintaining your system, and it's another potentially large omission to my mind.

Cooler Master Centurion 590 system chassis review