QNAP TS-409 Pro Review
Bjorn3D look at the QNAP TS-409 Pro.

QNAP’s attention to the quality of the components used in the construction of the TS-409 is refreshing to see, and still they have proven quality doesn’t automatically mean a higher price. At $550 for the non-Pro and $600 for the Pro version the TS-409 is priced well below most of their competitors. The TS-409 incorporates many Enterprise-grade features one would expect to see in a NAS that costs almost half again this amount, and as such literally blows away four-bay NAS solutions within its price range by offering a better value, feature set, and very strong performance.

QNAP TS-409 Pro Review

MSI NX8800GT Zilent Review
Tech-Reviews.co.uk has completed the review for the MSI NX8800GT Zilent.

nVidia's 8th series of next generation graphics cards have been going for about a year and a half now. When released, they dominated the market heavily being the card which offered the most 'bang for the buck'. Today we're going to take a step back from the future and have a look at one of nVidia's most successful cards, introducing the 8800GT.

The flavour of card we'll be looking at is the MSI model, which features a Zalman GPU cooler cooling the popular G92 chipset.

MSI NX8800GT Zilent Review



Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-16000 DDR3 Review
ASE Labs checked out the Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-16000 DDR3

I've always been keen to recommend Crucial in the past when people wanted RAM with a lifetime warranty that works as expected. Not until a few years ago did Crucial start offering their Ballistix overclocking RAM. Fast forward to the new DDR3 days of today and we find a new Ballistix PC3-16000 kit that offers speeds of 2000MHz! You'll be pressed to find a board that can even handle this speed, I know I didn't have one.

Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC3-16000 DDR3 Review

Intel's P45 Express chipset
The Tech Report posted an article on Intel's P45 Express chipset

Intel's P35 Express chipset has been a revelation for the Core 2 platform, delivering the same excellent performance, low power consumption, and generous overclocking headroom of more expensive X38 and X48 variants at a much lower cost. Or at only a slightly lower cost, depending on whether you prefer your motherboard loaded with more frills and extras than the spawn of Pimp My Ride. But that's the beauty of the P35; it's equally capable of powering mainstream desktops, high-end gaming rigs, and the sort of balanced best-bang-for-your-buck systems that enthusiasts tend to build.

If you've been around for long enough, the P35's success should come as no surprise. Intel's mid-range chipsets have been consistently solid year after year, establishing a virtual dynasty in an industry that doesn't always look kindly upon incumbents. It's no wonder, then, that expectations are high for the P35's successor, the new P45 Express.

Intel hasn't messed with the formula much for the P45, but there are a few new tricks up its sleeve. A redesigned memory controller promises to take better advantage of processors with 1333MHz front-side bus speeds, for example. Second generation PCI Express connectivity has also been added to the mix along with a more balanced approach to CrossFire configurations. And ever the efficient manufacturer, Intel has managed to shrink the whole thing down on a 65nm fabrication process.

The motherboard market is about to be saturated with a tidal wave of new designs based on the P45 Express, each with its own set of unique features and capabilities. We've already taken an early first look at what Asus is bringing to the table. Now that Intel has made the P45 official, we're diving a little deeper, this time with a couple of new motherboards from Gigabyte. Read on for a in-depth look at how the P45 Express fares against a collection of DDR2- and DDR3-equipped competitors ranging from its popular predecessor to Nvidia's uber-high-end nForce 790i SLI Ultra.

Intel's P45 Express chipset

Make Gmail Better Using GreaseMonkey
PC Mechanic takes a look at GreaseMonkey

I am a big fan of Gmail. Rich bailed on Gmail because he thought they lost one of his emails. He is now using Hotmail. But, Gmail continues to rule the roost and I think it is a great email client and service. But, Gmail is not without some annoyances. Some of those annoyances are big and would need to be solved by Gmail themselves (such as the addition of a to-do list). Others are small but can be fixed using Greasemonkey.

Make Gmail Better Using GreaseMonkey

SilverStone TS01 2.5" HDD Enclosure Review
3D Game Man posted a review on the SilverStone TS01 2.5" HDD Enclosure

The SilverStone TS01 2.5" HDD Enclosure is all aluminum, weights 85g, supports 2.5" SATA HDDs, is compatible with USB2 and supports all current operating systems. This enclosure is very compact but well constructed so it's very sturdy. Watch the video to find out more.

SilverStone TS01 2.5" HDD Enclosure Review

Mass Effect for PC Review
I4U NEWS published a review of Mass Effect for PC video game.

Today we are checking out the recently released Mass Effect PC game. Mass Effect is an immensely fun and deep game that virtually all PC gamers will find something to like in. You could literally write a book about Mass Effect giving away plot details as you go along. If you are a fan of sci-fi role playing or shooter games you simply must add Mass Effect to your library. Mass Effect is simply one of the best PC games I have ever played.

Mass Effect for PC Review

VOX V1 External Hard Drive Review
TechwareLabs has published a review of the VOX V1 External Hard Drive

External hard drives seem to flood the market these days, but how many come with an automatic backup utility? Of those, how many are plasticky? Today, Justin looks at a strudy metal external, the new V1 external Hard Drive by VOX.

VOX V1 External Hard Drive Review

Review of the VR920 video eyewear
Neoseeker takes a look at the VR920 video eyewear from Vuzix

It's strange to think that while computer hardware has gone developed in leaps and bounds during the last, say, twenty years, but the act of playing a game on your computer has hardly changed at all. The guy who played King's Quest IV on his 4 MHz computer back in 1988, is not doing all that much different than a guy playing Devil May Cry on his 4 GHz computer in 2008. Sure, the games have changed dramatically; but at the end of the day, playing the game -- plunking yourself in front of your monitor, moving your mouse, banging keys, has not really changed all that much.

Review of the VR920 video eyewear

Atrix 500T Extreme 650W Review
OCC has published a new review on the Atrix 500T Extreme 650W

If you are in the market for a power supply in the 650W range, I certainly could not recommend this one for a high performance system. Like its name suggests (Atrix 500T), 500W is probably a more realistic maximum than the stated 650W. The efficiency and power factor are very poor and the failure of the unit to maintain the 3V3 and 5V0 lines at heavy loads, just reinforces my case. I should also bring to your attention a really irritating noise coming from the unit at high load - a sure sign of a stressed out low-end power supply. I am convinced this unit would fail within a short period of time if constantly loaded above 500W. The casing of the power supply got far warmer than the temperature of the air leaving the enclosure suggested, but with such a poor efficiency of 57.7%, this is not surprising.

Atrix 500T Extreme 650W Review

Logitech Z Cinema Surround Review
OCIA.net has posted their review of the Logitech Z Cinema Surround Sound System

Next to video, sound is probably one of the most important aspects of a PC. And if sound is important to you, it should be of decent quality too. Today I'll be looking at the Logitech Z Cin=E9ma Advanced Surround Sound System. Although not a true surround sound setup, which typically include six, seven or more speakers laid out in a circle around the listener, this is a 2.1 setup, with two satellite speakers comprised of dual mids and tweeters, and a single high-power subwoofer for the bass.

Logitech Z Cinema Surround Review

OCZ Rally2 Turbo Flash Drive Review
Modders-Inc.com has posted a new article on the OCZ Rally2 Turbo Flash Drive

One of OCZs offerings, the OCZ Rally2 Turbo USB 2.0 Flash Drive allows you to transfer large music, picture, videos, and data files to your laptop or desktop in record times.

OCZ Rally2 Turbo Flash Drive Review

Silverstone Kublai KL03B-W Mid-Tower Case Review
Benchmark Reviews has posted a review on the Silverstone KL03B-W Kublai Mid Tower Case

Silverstone's third Kublai mid tower chassis is made for aficionados and serious computer enthusiasts that require a high level component with no trade-offs for cooling and quietness. Following the designing concept of previous chassis from Kublai series, the KL03 also possess many features borrowed from the Temjin series. Constructed using steel and aluminum, this chassis strikes a great balance between external aesthetics and excellent structural rigidity. Benchmark Reviews tests the Silverstone Kublai KL03B-W mid-tower ATX computer case in this article.

Silverstone Kublai KL03B-W Mid-Tower Case Review

E-Power Thunder EP-650-TD1 3-in-1 PSU Review
TweakTown posted a review on the E-Power Thunder EP-650-TD1 3-in-1 PSU

Enter E-Power, a company that has been around since 1990 but is not one of the big contenders. This company has a goal of creating high quality at an affordable price, and today we will take a peek at one of their moderate level power supplies to see if they have managed to pull this off.

While the power port and toggle switch appear pretty normal, there is an added port on this unit that resembles a PCI-E plug. Though that is not what it really is, it does add to the feature list and is where they get the “3-in-1” label. Let’s take a quick look at what plugs into this port and then we will see what we have.

E-Power Thunder EP-650-TD1 3-in-1 PSU Review

Heatpipe CPU cooler roundup Review
The Guru of 3D posted a Heatpipe CPU cooler roundup

Guru3D reviews five heatpipe based CPU coolers from Noctua, CoolerMaster , Tuniq, OCZ and Coolink. Over the past month or six several new heatpipe based coolers where introduced onto the market. And I already can disclose this .. not one single cooler was doing a below average result.

So for this test they decided to go a little more extreme. They crank up the usual system requirements a notch by using a fairly high-end PC as we take a Core 2 Duo Q6600 Quad Core processor and then overclock it to 3600 MHz to see how well these coolers still do.

Heatpipe CPU cooler roundup Review

ASUS EN9800GX2 video card review
Elite Bastards posted a review on the ASUS EN9800GX2 video card

As per NVIDIA's reference design, the two PCBs which make up the GeForce 9800 GX2 are enclosed inside a massive and hefty cooler, complete with a couple of cooling fans at its tail end to push air down the board so that it is exhausted from the rear of the card. It may be bulky, but the design otherwise feels very solid and well thought-out, which is something we can expect from NVIDIA's future high-end board and cooler designs.

With two GPUs on-board, needless to say power requirements for the GeForce 9800 GX2 are large. Thus, you'll need to power this board via both six-pin and eight-pin PCI Express power connectors in tandem. This board's bundle does include an adapter which converts two six-pin PCI Express power connectors into a single eight-pin connector, but either way you'll need a reasonably powerful and modern PSU for this part.

ASUS EN9800GX2 video card review

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200: The new budget king
TechSpot posted a review on the Intel Core 2 Duo E7200

The new Core 2 Duo E7200 is the first member of the "Wolfdale-3M" family. You may remember that not so long ago we looked at the new Wolfdale family of 45nm processors, which consists of the E8200, E8300, E8400 and E8500 processors. These still remain today as the fastest Core 2 Duo processors, offering superior performance and efficiency not to mention stellar overclocking abilities.

The Wolfdale-3M family is, as you may have guessed, a cut-down version, and as the name alludes to, these processors feature a smaller 3MB L2 cache and a 1066MHz FSB. With the Core 2 Duo E7200, Intel is offering a 45nm processor that is considerably more affordable than the cheapest Wolfdale (~$180), and even undercuts other budget oriented models such as the E6550 that roughly costs $160, while the E4700 is also more expensive at around $140.

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200: The new budget king