Leadtek PX9800 GTX GeForce 9800 GTX Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the Leadtek PX9800 GTX GeForce 9800 GTX

After AMD's successful launch of the HD 4850 Series, NVIDIA decided to drop the price point of the GeForce 9800 GTX to only $199. At this price the card becomes a very affordable product that offers all the performance you need to play the latest games. An additional plus is the support for PhysX via NVIDIA's CUDA implementation.

Leadtek PX9800 GTX GeForce 9800 GTX Review

Asus Radeon HD 4850 Review
TechSpot posted a review on the Asus Radeon HD 4850

In an effort to remain competitive in the $200-$300 price bracket, ATI is launching yet another product from a brand new series which has been given the codename R700. The R700 will be better known as the Radeon HD 4000, and the first product from this new series that we will be looking at is called the Radeon HD 4850.

Already the Radeon HD 4850 is shaping up to be a rather interesting product as its suggested retail price has been set at just $200, right between the GeForce 8800 GT and 8800 GTS 512. With that in mind we would normally expect this new card's performance to at least exceed that of the 8800 GT, however, looking at its specifications the Radeon HD 4850 appears as it will be capable of much more than just defeating the competition's budget king.

Asus Radeon HD 4850 Review



Roogoo (PC) Review
Bit-Tech published a review of Roogoo for the PC

Just because the game is tough though, isn't to say that RooGoo isn't fun. It is fun to play, kind of. Fun in the same kind of way as //Peggle or //Drug Wars or any other casual game. You don't actually massively enjoy playing the game, you just crave the sense of accomplishment and completion and you get sucked into this trap early on thanks to the pick-up-and-play design.

There are only two real things that prevent / /RooGoo from being a good game and neither of these are really going to be a huge problem to any initiated puzzle fans. The first is that there really isn't much to be had beyond the single game mode and once you've played one level you've played them all.

The other problem is the way the game presents itself. We've joked about the bright colours, MeeMoos, King Goos, and Roos of / /RooGoo, but the reality is that they really are a problem. //RooGoo is too fast and frantic to be a kids game, so we have to judge it as more than that and while the game would still have problems if it was presented as a less immature puzzler, it would be a bit better off.

Roogoo (PC) Review

ASUS Lion Square CPU Cooler Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the ASUS Lion Square CPU Cooler

Today we look at the newest CPU cooler from ASUS, the Lion Square. Named for the Sword Lion legend and designed with quad core CPU’s in mind this seems to be a slick heat sink. The bold and unique design features eight heat pipes that originate from the copper base all the way to the top where they are covered by neat looking nuts. The very top of the cooler has a cover that mimics the shape of a shield. It looks great, but how will it perform? Read on to find out!

ASUS Lion Square CPU Cooler Review

NVIDIA nForce 790i and Intel X48 Chipsets
Digit-Life posted a review on NVIDIA nForce 790i and Intel X48 Chipsets

These solutions offer similar characteristics, possessing support for all necessary technologies to become top products. NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI can boast of SLI support and more functional Southbridge; Intel X48 - Turbo Memory support, lower heat release, and lower prices.

NVIDIA nForce 790i and Intel X48 Chipsets

Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000 Processor Review
HotHardware.com have a look at Intel's new top-of-the-line Core 2 Mobile chip, the Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000.

At 2.8GHz with a full 6MB of L2 cache and a TDP of 35 Watts, this chip is Intel's fastest notebook CPU for the performance enthusiast, gaming, and multimedia markets, aka the Desktop Replacement (DTR) crowd. Our test vehicle was none other than Dell's XPS M1730 killer mobile gaming machine. A match made in heaven? Perhaps. Come on by the site and find out...

Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile X9000 Processor Review

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 Review
Bios Magazine posted a review on Mozilla Firefox 3.0

If you're using Firefox 2, the obvious benefit of downloading the latest version is its improved rendering speed, the clever new data mining tools for bookmarks and browser history, and the many security-related features built right into it. Memory usage is thrifty, and it doesn't seem to freeze as often as the last version. The so-called 'Awesome Bar' will delight some and annoy the heck out of others (us included), and there's no easy way to turn it off. Instead, you have to go into about:config to disable it. How silly is that? Firefox 3.0 is a great browser and a huge improvement over previous versions. But Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari are also good browsers - all having their adherents. So, whether you should use Firefox 3.0 is largely a personal choice. It is free after all, so you've got nothing to lose. If you are still running an earlier version, now's the time to upgrade to Firefox 3, or in case you've never used Firefox before, now's the time to do so.

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 Review

Amazon Kindle Review
Hardware Secrets posted a review on the Amazon Kindle e-book reader

Over the years, there have been other electronic book readers, but none has been highly successful. The Kindle is the first device of this type developed by Amazon.com, a company whose primary focus is on books. Can company that understands how to sell books deliver a technologically superior and universally-accepted e-book reader? We took a good look at the Kindle to find out.

Amazon Kindle Review

Kira CS 630W Power Supply Review
JonnyGURU.com posted a review on the Kira CS 630W Power Supply

X-Spice is a newcomer to the shores of North America, and they have shared their Kira series 630 watt power supply with me to see how it does.

Come on in... you're not going to want to miss this one.

Kira CS 630W Power Supply Review

ZEROTherm ZEN FZ120 Cooler Review
HardwareLogic posted ZEROTherm ZEN FZ120 Cooler Review

ZEROtherm focuses on cooling products, such as CPU coolers, VGA coolers and high performance thermal grease. Their focus has led to top-notch products in all the previously mentioned areas. They have broke of out of the OEM market and, without question, earned the respect of computer enthusiasts and the cooling industry. Last October the release of the Nirvana CPU cooler rocked our socks off. The Nirvana did such a fantastic job we were ecstatic to get the opportunity to test the new Zen FZ120 on our new cooling test bench. But how does he stack up against his big brother and many other fine competitors?

ZEROTherm ZEN FZ120 Cooler Review

XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX Edition Review
3D Game Man posted a review on the XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX Edition

If the GTX 280 AMP! Edition from ZOTAC wasn’t enough MHz for you, we might have the card for you today. XFX is back once again, carrying with it some pretty mean speeds on the new GTX 280 XXX Edition.

While the XFX GTX 280 does come in 30MHz lower on the core compared to the ZOTAC offering, it does carry with it a significantly higher 200MHz DDR memory clock. Let’s find out if that makes up for the reduced core speed.

XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX Edition Review

TekNmotion Pulsar SX PC Gaming Headphones Review
OCIA.net has posted their review of the TekNmotion Pulsar SX PC Gaming Headphones.

TekNmotion specializes in CD/DVD carrying cases, individual disc cases as well as sleeving for individual discs. The Pulsar SX Gaming Headset, released just two months ago, represents their introduction into the gaming market. According to their website, this headset has been in development for over two yeas and includes pretty much everything that you need in a gaming headset... except the high price. Can this newcomer really produce a quality gaming headset at a fraction of the price?

TekNmotion Pulsar SX PC Gaming Headphones Review

Noctua NF-B9 Review
OCC has published a new review on the Noctua NF-B9

Well, I was hoping for a bit more performance out of the NF-B9, but at just 1600 RPM, it's asking quite a lot for it to perform better than fans turning at 2000 RPM and higher, and yet it matched or exceeded the performance of the Thermaltake TT-9025A (2000 RPM) fan. So, in this respect, the design of the NF-B9 fan blades can be seen as having a performance advantage over standard fan blades.

Noctua NF-B9 Review

Razer Destructor Proffessional Gaming Mat Review
Modders-Inc.com has a new article online on the Razer Destructor Proffessional Gaming Mat

Razer has a nice line up of great gaming gear designed specifically to enhance the gaming experience of hardcore gamers out there. The Razer Destructor mouse pad is no different.

Razer Destructor Proffessional Gaming Mat Review

ECS Factory Tour 2008 in Shenzhen, China
Virtual-Hideout posted a review on the ECS Factory Tour 2008 in Shenzhen, China

Back in May 2008 I was lucky enough to be invited by ECS Elitegroup to take a guided factory tour of a couple of their PCB manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, China. The trip was wrapped around the same time as Computex in Taipei, Taiwan so I hit Computex, then flew over to China to hit up the tour before flying back to the USA. We have been dealing with ECS here at Virtual-Hideout for years now and it was an honor to be invited on such an exclusive, inside look at their world class facilities. Get your passport up to date as come along with me as we tour ECS together...

ECS Factory Tour 2008 in Shenzhen, China

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition review
The Guru of 3D posted a review on the XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition

Last week when AMD unleashed a some nice fury (you might even say a can of whoopass) in the graphics card market NVIDIA just had to respond .. before we knew it a GeForce 9800 GTX+ SKU was born.

What people seem to forget though is that there are even faster than GTX+ products on the market, now priced very competitive as well. The card we review is the XFX GeForce 9800GTX Black Edition. The fun thing is, it has even faster than GTX+ clocks and will be priced at an amazing 239-249 USD. What we'll do today is have a look at that Radeon HD 4850 performance and compare it with the default GeForce 9800 GTX and then the XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition.

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX Black Edition review

Razer Lachesis High Precision 3G Gaming Mouse Review
Futurelooks checks out a great Razer Lachesis High Precision 3G Gaming Mouse

As the “Bringer of Silent Death”, the Razer Lachesis is named after venomous pit vipers found in Central and South America which can strike its victim multiple times at lethal speeds. Now I don’t call myself an avid gamer but I do like to partake in the more recent windows based gaming titles and it will be interesting to see how a true gaming mouse outperforms a regular ol’ optical mouse that I’ve been clutching. Does this precision gaming mouse live up to its namesake?

Razer Lachesis High Precision 3G Gaming Mouse Review

Samsung SC-HMX10A High Definition HD Solid State Memory Camcorder Review
TweakNews posted a review on the Samsung SC-HMX10A High Definition HD Solid State Memory Camcorder

Samsung's first foray into solid state HD recording can be easily summed up to be a success. Everything works perfectly, controls are easy to use and video/photo quality are excellent for an all-in-one product. With the rise in HDTV sales, HD camcorders are going to get more and more popular. Consider an HD camcorder as future-proofing your purchase so it will be compatible with the new TV standard for several years.

Samsung SC-HMX10A High Definition HD Solid State Memory Camcorder Review

Winchip DDR2 667 MHz 16 GB Quad Kit Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the Winchip DDR2 667 MHz 16 GB Quad Kit

There are not many manufacturers offering such massive kits, but Winchip has made some waves before with unique offerings. Their 667 MHz 4x 4 GB kit runs at CL5. Such a large capacity kit is intended for very specific scenarios. We try to showcase some of these.

Winchip DDR2 667 MHz 16 GB Quad Kit Review

Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 architecture analysis
Bit-Tech published an analysis of Nvidia's GT200 architecture and a first look at Nvidia's GeForce GTX 280 graphics card.

That said, making a compute heavy ASIC with 1.4 billion transistors is an amazing feat, but to be honest I had hoped to see more performance from such a big chip – the GT200's performance is often higher than the 9800 GX2 in the targeted tests we've run, but in many real-world cases it isn't, as we'll show you very soon in our GeForce GTX 280 and 260 gaming performance article.

I can't help but feel this is a strange position to be in with the release of a completely new architecture because, generally speaking, the new generation of hardware completely outclasses everything that's gone before. That isn't the case here and I get the feeling that Nvidia has been a little conservative on the graphics front. Instead, it has focused a lot of resources on improving the GPU's general compute capabilities.

What concerns me though is that Nvidia seems intent on pushing CUDA at the moment, which is fine in many respects, but it's not the only player in the GPU computing market and applications developed using CUDA don't work on other hardware. That limits its appeal to me, unfortunately, as we dearly need a standard that all hardware vendors support in hardware.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 280 architecture analysis