Synology DS209, Budget Alternative to DS209+
Bjorn3D takes a look at the Synology DS209, Budget Alternative to DS209+

Back in March, we reviewed the Synology DS209+, an updated version of the highly acclaimed Synology DS207 series. We love the DS209+'s excellent transfer performance and its user-friendly interface that we have given the unit our coveted Golden Bear Award. Unfortunately, the asking price of the DS209+ may deter some users from spending $500 on a NAS where they may not need all of the features found on such expensive unit. Instead, some people maybe looking at more affordable unit which shares similar performance and features but at the same time, costs much less. Realizing such demand, the folks at Synology has recently launched the DS209 that would satisfy budget oriented customers.

Synology DS209, Budget Alternative to DS209+

Rosewill RX81-MP-US External SATA Enclosure Review
Tech-Reviews.co.uk posted a review on the Rosewill RX81-MP-US External SATA Enclosure

External hard drives have grown in popularity considerably in recent years. Most of us have experienced at least one dreaded hard drive failure and so we've learnt the importance of backing up files. One hardware device which makes backing up effortless and fast is an external hard drive. These are also useful for mass portable storage. Today we'll be reviewing an external hard drive enclosure from 'Rosewill'. This 3.5" SATA enclosure supports all the modern standards and can support even a 1TB hard drive. Time to take a look at the RX81-MP-US.

Rosewill RX81-MP-US External SATA Enclosure Review



Speedlink Vento 2.0 Speaker Set Review
Verdis Reviews posted a review on the Speedlink Vento 2.0 Speaker Set

With speaker sets growing larger in the number of satellites up to five or even seven in some cases, transporting them is not an option. For those enthusiasts using netbooks or laptops for long periods of time, a decent set of 2.0 speakers are a must have. The trouble is that a quality set of 2.0's are more expensive than most are willing to pay so Speedlink have come up with the Vento 2.0 Speaker Set which aims to combine great sound with an affordable price. Let's see whether they can achieve just this.

Speedlink Vento 2.0 Speaker Set Review

AMD TWKR Edition CPU Preview
OCC has published a new article on the AMD TWKR Edition CPU

I am very impressed by what I achieved with the TWKR. Going extreme
cooling allowed for a great boost in frequency. What amazed me the most is that the processor required much lower voltages than the previous Phenom II chips. Even when overclocked to around 5GHz, it did not need more than 1.6V. However, I know there is much more left on the table. I felt dry ice could not provide the temperatures needed to scale to the top of the processor's performance. In fact, the processor ran better with lower voltages than 1.6V. My theory is that maybe it was getting a bit too warm when I pushed high voltages in it, which it is supposed to sustain without any problems due to its high leakage. The same thing happened if I increased the integrated memory controller voltage beyond a certain point at the same time as the core voltage, even if it ran fine when the only overclock was on the IMC. In other words, I felt dry ice cooling was still very limiting for the TWKR Edition since it did not allow the high voltages it can take.

AMD TWKR Edition CPU Preview

AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor Review
HotHardware.com posted a review on the AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor

Within the enthusiast scene, there exists an elite group of overclockers who push the limits of hardware to the breaking point. With the help of phase change coolers, dry ice, liquid nitrogen and even liquid helium, these enthusiasts achieve the seemingly impossible. In this world, maximum frequencies and world records are the motivation behind the countless hours spent modding and tweaking PC hardware.

AMD recognized the blood, sweat, and tears that extreme overclockers put into their hobby by creating a very special, limited edition processor made specifically for them. The Phenom II X4 TWKR Black Edition processor is a hand-picked CPU that performs above and beyond the normal parameters we're accustomed to seeing from the Phenom II line. Under the extremely low temps supplied by LN2 or LHe cooling, these chips are said to yield monster overclocks. Check it out...

AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition Processor Review

AMD Phenom II 42 TWKR Black Edition Processor Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the AMD Phenom II 42 TWKR Black Edition Processor

Opening up the little box we discovered the handpicked AMD Phenom II 42 TWKR Black Edition processor. It's not every day you get a processor delivered to your door step that was handpicked to be an overclocking winner and will never be for sale to the public. This is every overclocker's dream and we are more than willing to overclock this little guy to the max with liquid nitrogen!

AMD Phenom II 42 TWKR Black Edition Processor Review

Kingston HyperX (KHX-FAN) Memory Cooler Review
TweakTown posted a review on the Kingston HyperX (KHX-FAN) Memory Cooler

Back when I started overclocking my RAM with a few sets of DDR, the voltage those old TCCD chips could take was insane by today’s standards and the heat they produced was sometimes unbearable. Then there weren’t too many commercially available options to give the memory its own dedicated airflow. I do remember something referred to as the "crab cooler", but my efforts to find it now ended up with not being able to locate it. The need for memory specific cooling lead me to end up using 80mm and 120mm fans, rigged in my PC in ways I’d rather not discuss, due to their "ghetto mod" nature.

What Kingston has come up with is the Kingston HyperX Fan or KHX-FAN as it’s labeled on the package. The KHX-FAN is a memory cooler that uses the power of a motherboard header or any 3-pin fan connection to spin the dual fan designed arrangement. I’m no stranger to what these types of coolers are capable of doing for memory cooling and first impressions of the KHX-Fan lead me to believe they have built something very capable of the task at hand.

Kingston HyperX (KHX-FAN) Memory Cooler Review

Sungale ID800WT 8 Inch Wi-Fi Digital Touchscreen Photo Frame
TestFreaks posted a review on the Sungale ID800WT 8 Inch Wi-Fi Digital Touchscreen Photo Frame

Today I$B!G(Bm taking a look at the Sungale ID800WT 8$B!m(B Wi-Fi Digital Touchscreen Photo Frame, as the name suggests it has Wi-Fi built into it and it features a touchscreen. Back in March I looked at the Kodak W1020 Digital Photo Frame and it also had both of these features to an extent, the Kodak frame only had a touch border, not the entire screen, the Sungale I have today though has the entire screen enabled for touch which makes navigation and operation much easier.

Sungale ID800WT 8 Inch Wi-Fi Digital Touchscreen Photo Frame

A look at the AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition
Neoseeker takes a look at the very exclusive AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition

So in what different are the internals compared to the Phenom II X4 955? Since it is geared toward the extreme overclocking crowd, it is a high SIDD chip. This is an engineering term which means it has a high leakage. In simpler words, the TWKR processors can be supplied more voltage, thus power, and handle it without any glitch.

A look at the AMD Phenom II TWKR Black Edition

Sapphire HD 4730 512 MB Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the Sapphire HD 4730 512 MB video card

Sapphire's new HD 4730 is based on the RV770 GPU which is used on the HD 48xx Series. Such a choice had to be made because the availability of the HD4770 GPU is extremely limited at this time - while customer demand is up. Sapphire offers their card with 640 shaders and 512 MB GDDR5 memory at an extremely competitive price point of only $79. But is that enough to take over that market segment?

Sapphire HD 4730 512 MB Review

Vizo Saturno 2.5" External HDD Enclosure Review
Tech-Reviews.co.uk posted a review on the Vizo Saturno 2.5" External HDD Enclosure

Recently, it has become common for many people to have an external hard drive enclosure, these generally speaking have been purchased with the HDD already installed for a greater price than an enclosure and a HDD. This means that there is money to be saved by buying the components separately and fitting them yourself. With that in mind I introduce the Vizo Saturno.

Vizo Saturno 2.5" External HDD Enclosure Review

Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound Video Review
eTeknix.com posted a review on the Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound Video

Lately we've been looking at a few different thermal compounds and this time up we're looking at one aimed at the high end user and overclocker so we should be expecting better results than the premium thermal compounds that most consumers buy. We compare this extreme thermal paste with offerings from Arctic Silver and Noctua.

Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme Thermal Compound Video Review

Rocketfish 550 W Power Supply Review
Hardware Secrets posted a review on the Rocketfish 550 W Power Supply

The electronics store chain Best Buy has several house brands and two of them are used for computer components: Dynex and Rocketfish. We have already reviewed Dynex 400 W power supply and Rocketfish 700 W power supply. While the models we reviewed a while ago were manufactured by Huntkey, Best Buy decided to hire a different company for their 550 W model: CWT. They also replaced Huntkey as the manufacturer for their 700 W model, so the 700 W model you find now on stores today (labeled "RF-700WPS2") is manufactured by CWT, not by Huntkey anymore. Let's see if this new 550 W power supply survives our tests.

Rocketfish 550 W Power Supply Review

Seventeam ST-750P-AF Power Supply Review
Hardware Secrets posted a review on the Seventeam ST-750P-AF Power Supply

Seventeam is slowly entering the US market and ST-750P-AF is one of the few products from them available around here. Is it a good product? Can it deliver its labeled power? Check it out.

Seventeam ST-750P-AF Power Supply Review

Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC Computer Case Review
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC Computer Case

Benchmark Reviews recently called on the Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC computer case to complete our NVIDIA ION Home Theater PC project. The lightweight mITX case offers a 65W power supply and room for a slim optical drive and 2.5" SSD or HDD. The Antec ISK300 fits two 80mm fans along the side, which help exhaust heated air out of the enclosure. Enthusiast can stand the ISK300 case upright, allowing this HTPC enclosure to fit nicely beside other entertainment center electronics.

Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC Computer Case Review

Thermaltake Litepower 450W Review
PureOverclock posted a review on the Thermaltake Litepower 450W

The Thermaltake Litepower 450W power supply is an absurdly plain-looking unit that claims not to be run-of-the-mill. Let's see if judging a book by its cover proves unwise today as we put the Litepower to the test.

Thermaltake Litepower 450W Review

ECS Black Series X58B-A Nehalem Motherboard Review
Futurelooks checks out a budget X58 motherboard

The Intel Core i7 is the current king of the desktop performance market and shows no signs of slowing down. At present, the Core i7 processor is the superior number crunching executioner of choice compared to any other CPU solution to cross this test bench to date. This success would be for naught without the X58 platform which currently solely supports it.

ECS Black Series X58B-A Nehalem Motherboard Review

Gigabyte P55 motherboard preview (P55-UD4P)
The Guru of 3D posted Gigabyte P55 motherboard preview

We have the opportunity to show you a P55 motherboard stripped down butt-nekkid. Now we can't say much more about the chipset, neither can we test it with a processor. So this sneak preview is merely a quickie session with photo's about Gigabyte's P55 offering.

Gigabyte P55 motherboard preview (P55-UD4P)

ASUS Radeon HD 4890 Voltage Tweak Graphics Card Review
TweakTown posted a review on the ASUS Radeon HD 4890 Voltage Tweak Graphics Card

The Voltage Tweak model from ASUS is something we've heard about for a while now. The idea behind it is that ASUS gives the user even more control of the card when it comes to overclocking. Not only do you have the ability to overclock the standard clocks like memory and core, but you also have the ability to adjust the voltage.

You may be wondering what this exactly means; it gives you the ability to adjust the voltage to higher levels which in turn gives you the ability to run the card at even higher speeds, much like you do with a CPU where adding more voltage gives you the ability to obtain higher clock speeds.

ASUS Radeon HD 4890 Voltage Tweak Graphics Card Review

Dell Adamo 1.2GHz Review
t-break posted a new review on the Dell Adamo 1.2GHz

I recently reviewed the MacBook Pro 13 which I bought a couple of weeks back and found it to be an excellent notebook. Today, I received the Dell Adamo and my heart skipped a beat when I opened the box. It looked stunning and I wondered if I had rushed into buying the MacBook Pro.

Dell Adamo 1.2GHz Review

iFrogz Nerve Pipes Review
OverclockersHQ posted a review on the iFrogz Nerve Pipes

These days everything’s black or white, at least in relation to headphones. Occasionally a company comes along and offers different colored speakers, camo designs, or other aesthetic changes but for some it’s simply not enough. iFrogz have come along and has given us the reigns. You can customize and tailor every aspect of these headphones. This awesome liberty to create more is something never before possible that as far as I know no other company has accomplished thus far.

iFrogz Nerve Pipes Review

Nikon D5000 Digital Camera Review
eCoustics posted a review on the Nikon D5000 Digital Camera

The D5000 offers nearly all of the features and performance of Nikon's fantastic D90, but in a smaller form factor. Nikon also threw in a flip-down, rotating LCD display to keep things interesting. The D5000 has the usual set of D-SLR features, very good photo quality and performance, plus an HD movie mode. Most of its downsides fall into the "I would've been nice" category: the LCD resolution is low, the viewfinder is on the small side, and autofocus isn't supported on all Nikkor lenses. A few other issues are more annoying, such as the extremely slow contrast detect AF in live view mode. Despite its flaws, the D5000 is a solid choice for those looking for a full-featured, yet approachable D-SLR.

Nikon D5000 Digital Camera Review

Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i / Kiss X3 Digital) Review
Digital Photography Review published a review on the Canon EOS 500D camera

Just 14 months after the launch of the EOS Rebel XSi (450D), Canon has unveiled its latest model, the Rebel T1i (500D). It's the fifth generation of Rebel and enters the market at a difficult time - in the midst of a global economic downturn and against the fiercest competition we've ever seen in the entry-level DSLR sector. So what has Canon done to make this latest model in the longest-established family in the sector live up to the edgy and exciting image implied by its US naming?

The 500D/T1i doesn't quite have to be the everyman camera that its predecessors were. The introduction of the Rebel XS (1000D) in June 2008 means the T1i no longer has to appeal to everybody who doesn't want to stretch to buying into the 50D class. As a result, the 450D was able to bulk up its feature set to include a selection of features that price-conscious shoppers don't necessarily realize they want, such as a larger viewfinder and spot metering. The result was probably the most complete Rebel we'd seen.

Canon EOS 500D (Digital Rebel T1i / Kiss X3 Digital) Review

Cooler Master HAF922 Chassis Review
Driverheaven posted a review on the Cooler Master HAF922 Chassis

Today we're going to be looking at another model in the HAF lineup, the HAF 922. The HAF 922 is effectively a brother to the 932 and offers a selection of the key features but in a smaller package at a cheaper price.

Cooler Master HAF922 Chassis Review