Bjorn3D takes a look at the QNAP TS-109 Pro NAS

Here at Bjorn3D, we have reviewed many NAS from various vendors, ranging from QNAP, Synology, Sans Digital, to Vantec. One thing that is certain is that each new product comes to our lab is packed with more features and most of the time, much more user-friendly. This makes NAS a great addition to any home user with multiple computers. Many of these NASes are virtually maintenance-free and the installation process is as easy as hooking up a few cables to the hard drive.

Our first look at QNAP’s product was their TS101. We were fairly pleased with its features and performance and it had received Bjorn3D’s coveted Golden Bear Awards. Well, the folks at QNAP has since updated their product and adds more features to their NAS. Today, we will take a look at their latest release--the TS109 Pro.

QNAP’s website offers very detailed comparison among various NAS which the company sells; check it out to see the difference among different models (link). Here is a short comparison between the TS109 Pro and TS101

QNAP TS-109 Pro Review

Hardwarecanucks published a review of the Silverstone Sugo SG03 Case

With the SG03, Silverstone has built a case which is an engineering and design tour de force. Even though it is a Small Form Factor case it offers unbelievable cooling, plenty of room for expandability and enough bangs and whistles to satisfy even the most demanding of consumers.

Silverstone Sugo SG03 Case Review



The Guru of 3D posted a review on the BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC video card with ThermoIntelligence

Today Guru3D will test the BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC ThermoIntelligence; so what they'll do is simple .. they have a brief peek at the technology that is the GeForce 8600 GT and then chat a little more on what the differences are among the several models and explain to you what exactly ThermoIntelligence is all about. You've also noticed that the product
tested is actually an OC version which obviously is proverbial for overclock.

Four new additions have been made based off one model, the GeForce 8600 GT. You'll now notice an OC, OC2, 256MB and 512MB model of these cards with a ThermoIntelligence slapped onto the packaging. With that being said, let's startup this review where we explain the technical details and test the cards with a game or twelve. Those games include hot titles like DiRT from Colin McRae, S.t.a.l.k.e.r, GRAW, War Front, F.e.a.r. and many more.

Oh and boy does thing thing overclock !

BFG GeForce 8600 GT OC (TI edition) Review

TechwareLabs has published a review of the Evoluent Verticle Mouse 3

If you are tired of wrist and arm strain and are looking for something to take the stress out of using your mouse then Evoluent may have the answer with their ergonomically designed Vertical Mouse. We take a look at this mouse and bring you the details on how it works, how amazingly customizable it is, and if we feel its worth your money. Has Evoluent created a mouse which will replace yours? Read our review to find out.

Evoluent Verticle Mouse 3 Review

PC Perspective has published a review of the XFX nForce 680i SLI motherboard and tested out its support for the new 1333 MHz FSB Intel processors

The only feature missing is support for DDR3 memory which several of the P35 motherboards we have tested use. There is no doubt that DDR3 will be faster than DDR2 at some point, but for now, the performance differences aren't very big but the price differences are! DDR3 is still very hard to find and when you do locate it, be prepared to pay a premium. So, maybe having the 680i chipset with DDR2 support isn't so bad after all.

XFX nForce 680i SLI Motherboard Review - 1333 FSB Support

3D Game Man takes a look at the iMON Ultra Bay

The iMON Ultra Bay will turn any mid-tower or full-tower case into a Home Theater PC Case. The iMON LCD products now uses the new iMON LCD developed by SoundGraph which is designed for the HTPC market. This particular LCD can display various system and media information using 96x16 pixels dot area and total of 177 icons. Using the iMON software allows the remote to be used as a mouse and keyboard replacement. It makes opening and closing applications a snap and you can even use the remote to turn on or off the computer system. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end.

iMON Ultra Bay Review

PC Stats posted Diamond Viper Radeon HD 2900XT 1GB Videocard Review

The Diamond Viper Radeon HD 2900XT VPU core runs at 743 MHz while the 1GB of GDDR4 memory hums along at a very sweet 2 GHz! In pairs, the Diamond Viper Radeon HD 2900XT is ATI Crossfire compatible on supporting motherboards. In the review today PCSTATS overclocks the Diamond HD 2900XT 1GB's alone, and in a Crossfire pair - can you guess how fast this makes DirectX10 game playback?

Diamond Viper Radeon HD 2900XT 1GB Videocard Review

Hi-TechReviews posted a review on the Coolermaster Real Power Pro 750 watt Power Supply

After using the Cooler Master Real Power Pro power supply for 2-weeks it can be said that this is perhaps one of the quietest power supplies we have tested. The best part about it though is you do not have to pay big bucks for big power with a price tag for this power supply of $169.00USD/$179.00CDN.

Coolermaster Real Power Pro 750 watt Power Supply Review

BIOS Magazine published a review on the HP iPAQ 514 Voice Communicator

Saying the world needs another smartphone manufacturer is like saying Britain doesn't need to outsource summer. Only this is different. This is HP. Best known in the computer world for just about everything, the U.S.-based powerhouse is now trying its hand at corporate communications at a personal level. And you'll be pleased to know that its first product is actually very decent. The iPAQ 514 (around =A3187, SIM-free) is perfectly sized for day-to-day business use. It's neither too big nor too small, and the keypad is neatly placed towards the bottom of the handset to make as much room for the colour display as possible. The black-and-silver device is also relatively slim and light (486x163x107mm, 102g), so it can fit neatly into a shirt or trouser pocket and not cause too much discomfort.

HP iPAQ 514 Voice Communicator Reviewed

PC Stats takes a look at Windows Vista ReadyBoost

A hard drive is not as quick as solid state memory, so it can suffer from read latency. ReadyBoost was envisioned to allow the PC to temporarily store non-critical operating system data on the USB memory flash drive for quicker access. On paper, ReadyBoost has the potential to boost the speed of older PC systems and make running Vista a more comfortable experience. Getting ReadyBoost set up and working on a Windows Vista computer is extremely simple, but does it even make a difference?

Windows Vista ReadyBoost: Does it Make a Difference?

DragonSteelMods posted a review on the Vizo Luxon Advanced SD 3.5" SATA to USB Hard Drive External Enclosure

Hard drive enclosures come in handy, it's nice to be able to throw an HDD into one and transfer data easily, but not all are created equal. I've always been a fan of the Vizo Luxon series of HDD enclosures, I've always felt that they are some of the best looking and quality made enclosures out there. The Luxon series work very well and provide and easy to use enclosure to transfer data and protect your hard drive. Today for review I have the Luxon SD enclosure that is made for 3.5" SATA drives to be used with any USB interface to get your data from place to place...

Vizo Luxon Advanced SD 3.5" SATA to USB Hard Drive External Enclosure Review

Techgage posted a review of Microsoft's latest ergo desktop set

Ergonomic keyboards are one of Microsoft's specialties, so how does their latest 7000 desktop fare? Notable features include 2.4GHz wireless technology, zoom button, hot-keys, soft palm-rest and also a new mouse that promises 6-months of battery-life on a single charge.

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000 Review

Hardware Secrets posted a quick reference tables containing the main specs of all Pentium Dual Core released to date.

Pentium Dual Core is a Core 2 Duo (or a Core Duo, in the case of the mobile versions) CPU with a lower internal clock rate and less L2 memory cache. In this tutorial you will learn the main technical specifications of this processor and a table with all Pentium Duo Core released so far.Who thought that with the release of the Core microarchitecture and Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme and Core Quad Intel would retire their Pentium trademark was completely wrong. The legendary Pentium trademark is back with the release of the Pentium Dual Core.Pentium Dual Core for desktops is a dual-core processor based on Core microarchitecture, the same one used by Core 2 Duo. Watch out to not make confusion between Pentium Dual Core and Pentium D. Even though both are dual-core CPUs, Pentium D is based on Intel’s previous microarchitecture, called Netburst, the same one used by Pentium 4. If you want to learn in details about the microarchitecture used by Pentium Dual Core read our Inside Intel Core Microarchitecture tutorial. To compare it to Pentium D microarchitecture, read Inside Pentium 4 Architecture and Intel Dual Core Technology tutorials.Pentium Dual Core uses a 1 MB L2 memory cache, which is shared between the two CPU cores (Intel calls this implementation as Smart Cache and works externally at 800 MHz (200 MHz transferring four data per clock cycle).In contrast Core 2 Duo processors have at least 2 MB L2 memory cache – with several 4 MB models – and, even thought there are models running externally at 800 MHz, the vast majority uses a 1,066 MHz external bus, with newer models running externally at 1,333 MHz.The mobile version of Pentium Dual Core is based on Pentium Ms microarchitecture, which Core microarchitecture was based on. Since these processors are dual-core Pentium Ms manufactured under 65 nm process, they are in fact Core Duo processors with less L2 memory cache the original Core Duo has 2 MB L2 memory cache, while Pentium Dual Core has only 1 MB. The majority of Core Duo processors run externally at 667 MHz, while all mobile versions of Pentium Dual Core run externally at 533 MHz.Here is a summary of the main Pentium Dual Core family features:Core microarchitecture (desktop version) or Pentium M (mobile version)32 KB instruction L1 memory cache and 32 KB data L1 memory cache for each core.Dual-core technology65 nm manufacturing process. Socket 775. 800 MHz (200 MHz transferring four data per clock cycle) external bus on desktop versions or 533 MHz (133 MHz transferring four data per clock cycle) on mobile versions.1 MB unified L2 memory cacheIntel EM64T Technology. SSE3 instruction set. Execute Disable Bit. Intelligent Power Capability. Enhanced SpeedStep Technology. Lets now talk about Pentium Dual Core models l

All Pentium Dual Core Models

Futurelooks checks out some cooling and backup action for your laptop

Nope, it isnt Lucy Lawless wearing a skin tight leather dress. Get it? Zena/Xena? Anyway, it's an innovative laptop cooler from VIZO incorporating a backup enclosure right inside the unit. Let's check it out!

VIZO Xena Laptop Cooler Review

OCC has published a new review of the WolfKing Timberwolf FPS Gaming Keyboard

The Timberwolf takes WolfKing's original product, the WolfKing Warrior (a circular type keyboard to have beside your regular keyboard), and merges it with a compact version of a full QWERTY keyboard to give you the best of both worlds in one complete package. Now that we have our minds thinking what this looks like, lets take a look at the packaging before we get to the keyboard itself. The front has that gaming feel showing a picture of the keyboard and a Wolf dressed in Desert Camo. The back highlights the features of the keyboard, as well as some review comments.

WolfKing Timberwolf FPS Gaming Keyboard Review

HEXUS.net posted a review on the HighPoint RocketRAID 2300 - Ready for take-off?

The HighPoint RocketRAID 2300 has got quite a few features but still relies on the CPU and operating system to do a lot of the work for it. Help or hindrance? Check out our in-depth review to find out.

> HighPoint RocketRAID 2300 - Ready for take-off?

TrustedReviews posted an article on DirectX 10

DirectX 10 games are slowly starting to appear on the shelves so we thought it was about time we looked at what Microsoft's new API is capable of.

DirectX 10: the Good, the Bad, and the Pretty

TrustedReviews have looked at the Asus U3 notebook

The Asus U3 is certainly quite an unusual product. It approaches the 13.3in form factor quite differently to other manufactures, removing the optical drive but adding discrete and integrated graphics along with eSATA and GPS. In this sense it's very feature rich, and caters for a whole raft of niches not normally found on other notebooks. Whether this proves winning formula we'll just have to wait and see, and naturally you can tell us your thoughts in the forums.

Asus U3 Hands-On Review

TrustedReviews have looked at the Samsung SyncMaster 245B 24in Monitor

The Samsung SyncMaster 245B is definitely a value focussed 24in display, where hitting a price point was clearly the goal over offering great image quality. If you're looking for a 1,920 x 1,200 monitor for gaming and you're on a very tight budget, then this is definitely an attractive option.

Samsung SyncMaster 245B 24in Monitor Review

bit-tech published a review of XFX's GeForce 8600 GT 620M XXX Edition

Despite the lack of HDCP support in the current version, XFX's GeForce 8600 GT XXX Edition is probably one of the best bang for buck mid-range DirectX 10 graphics cards out there. From as little as £90 including VAT, the card delivers performance that is not too far off Nvidia's GeForce 8600 GTS and, with a bit of overclocking, you can achieve practically the same performance as the 8600 GTS.

The cheapest GeForce 8600 GTS out there today will cost you around £110 (inc. VAT), which is another £20 more than the XFX GeForce 8600 GT 620M
XXX Edition. First, you have to first ask yourself whether the extra £20 that XFX's card costs over a standard clocked 8600 GT is worth spending, and then you have to ask yourself if it's worth spending another £20 to get an 8600 GTS. Stretching to £90 would be worthwhile, in my opinion, but stretching to £110 will not make as much of a difference.

XFX GeForce 8600 GT 620M XXX Edition Review

OCModShop posted a review on the Sennheiser CX-300 In-Ear Headphones

There is another thing that I value above the music and that sound quality. I hate having to listen to music without some depth; some nice clarity to be able to hear every stroke and glide cross the strings of a guitar, and the pounding bass drum of a rock song. Of course I take my music with me wherever I go on my mp3 player, but I want something better than the average headphones you get with a media player.

Now the CX300 is the first and currently only in-ear (or ear canal) headphones Sennheiser makes. Let's find out of their in-ear products are up to spec.

Sennheiser CX-300 In-Ear Headphones Review