GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 BFG OCX MaxCORE Review
The Guru of 3D takes a look at the BFG OCX MaxCORE

NVIDIA was seeking for some more performance in the GTX 260 series, they need to give it a little more bite. And though I'm sure that yet another SKU will drive board-partners crazy, I say bring it on.

NVIDIA today is introducing the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216, this new chip has one additional shader cluster which brings the accumulated number of shader processors towards 216. And it does make a slight difference, yet we'll test the BFG OCX MaxCORE version of it, and boy it does have a lot more bite.

GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 BFG OCX MaxCORE Review

Aluratek USB Internet Radio Jukebox AIRJ01F Review
TestFreaks.com posted a review on the Aluratek USB Internet Radio Jukebox AIRJ01F

Today for review I've got the USB Internet Radio from Aluratek, this little product allows you to listen to a plethora of internet based radio stations from all around the world quickly and easily. Just plug it in and in a few seconds you've got tunes!

Aluratek USB Internet Radio Jukebox AIRJ01F Review



Zotac GeForce GTX 260 Edition 216 Shaders Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the Zotac GeForce GTX 260 video card

Today NVIDIA released their updated GeForce GTX 260 GPUs which come with 24 extra shaders, for a total shader count of 216. Zotac has also overclocked their card beyond the GTX 280 clock speeds which results in a card that is just 1% slower than the regular GTX 280, yet costs over $130 less.

Zotac GeForce GTX 260 Edition 216 Shaders Review

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 (216 SP) Superclocked Edition Review
Hardware Canucks posted a review of the brand new EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition which uses the new GTX 260 core with 216 Stream Processors.

I am sure that for many of you the title of this review comes as a bit of a shock since you were not expecting a revised GTX 260 for the next little while at least. Some people say that competition speeds development and in this case ATI's introduction of their new 4800-series has prompted a lightning-quick response from Nvidia. Not only have they drastically cut the price of their GTX 280 and GTX 260 cards but it seems like they are now allowing manufacturers to release "upgraded" versions of the GTX 260. This card will be meant to shore up the GTX 260's performance against ATI's HD 4870 in the short term with an extra 24 Stream Processors to give it a helping hand.

EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 (216 SP) Superclocked Edition Review

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216: EVGA, Zotac
HotHardware.com posted their review on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216

In the conclusion of our coverage of the Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 launch, we posted this statement, "...dare we say a $300 graphics card represents an excellent value, from a price point perspective? These cards are definitely going to put significant price pressure on NVIDIA's GTX 200 series." At the time, the GeForce GTX 280 and GTX 260 were selling for upwards of $650 and $400 respectively, and ATI's newly released Radeon, which performed somewhat better than the GTX 260, was introduced at "only" $299.

Of course, NVIDIA quickly responded with a hefty round of price cuts that brought the GTX 280's price down considerably and put the GTX 260 and Radeon HD 4870 on roughly equal footing, but it turns out NVIDIA wasn't quite done. Today NVIDIA is introducing an updated GeForce GTX 260 card with more stream processors and texture filtering units than its predecessor. The name of the new GPU is the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216, due to the GPU's allotment of 216 stream processors--up from 192 in the first-gen GeForce GTX 260. We've got a couple of the new GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 cards in-house from EVGA and Zotac, and took them for a spin. Come on by the site and check them out...

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216: EVGA, Zotac

Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station

Today we look at the Thermaltake BlacX external USB2.0 docking station for 2.5"/3.5" SATA hard drives. The SATA to USB 2.0 interface provides up to 480Mbps data transfer rate for quick and easy data backup. The Thermaltake BlacX supports all 2.5” & 3.5” SATA HDDs up to 1TB and is hot-swap capable for those wanting to change drives on the go. Join us as we take a closer look at the Thermaltake BlacX.

Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station Review

Intel Q9650 3.00GHz Quad Core Processor Review
TechwareLabs has published a review of the Intel Q9650 3.00GHz Quad Core Processor

The Intel Q9650 is a processor that Intel is very proud of, and rightfully so. Reaching standard speeds of 3.0GHz per core, this processor is a force to reckon with. We put the Q9650 under a lot of strain as we ran several benchmarks and games to see how this processor really performed. Paired up with the latest Palit GTX280, can both of these two marvels take on the most demanding games out there? Lets take a look at how this beast truly performs.

Intel Q9650 3.00GHz Quad Core Processor Review

Scythe's Zipang CPU cooler Review
Bit-Tech published a review of Scythe's Zipang CPU cooler

While the Scythe Zipang isn't broken, its abysmal thermal performance combined with a Hulk-like rage inducing fitting procedure and a price tag steeper than Nvidia's stock decline make this one of the worst coolers we've looked at in recent memory. It fails on almost every criteria on which we judge a heatsink, and while it is very quiet, so are Noctua's coolers, which are not only cheaper, but perform 9°C cooler. The Zipang's dimensions also mean you'll struggle to fit it inside an HTPC, which is the only real task we think it could possibly be suited for.

Last week we looked at the superb Akasa 966, and it was pretty much everything we want from a CPU cooler. Quiet, easy to fit and offering great thermal results, it was an easy cooler to recommend. The Zipang is almost the polar opposite. Ridiculously oversized, underpowered, over priced and a pain to fit - the Zipang is a poor cooler from the get go, and certainly proves that looks can indeed be deceiving.

Scythe's Zipang CPU cooler Review

Palit Geforce 280 GTX Review
TechwareLabs has published a review of the Palit Geforce 280 GTX

Among the highest performing video cards currently available is the GTX 280, as it is currently the most powerful single card on the market. Michael Lynch takes this bad boy for a spin to show you how well this video card actually performs by itself and in SLI. Palit was gracious enough to send us two of their top-notch video cards to let us test out the true power behind the GTX 280. Now only one question stands in our mind. Can two GTX 280s in SLI run Crysis with maxed-out settings? Ohh Boy, we will see!

Palit Geforce 280 GTX Review

Eee PC 1000H Review
InsideHW.com has posted a review on the Eee PC 1000H netbook

When someone mentions Eee PC, people usually visualize small netbook with 7-inch screen diagonal and SSD. If that's the case also with you than you might be surprised with the fact that Asus offers, at the moment, under its brand name more than ten different notebooks. After Eee PC 701 4G Surf and Eee PC 900 models it's time to represent to you Eee PC 1000H model. This is netbook, as you can assume from model name, with 10-inch screen diagonal.

Eee PC 1000H Review

Thermaltake Armor+ MX Review
Overclockers Online has posted a new review on the Thermaltake Armor+ MX

Excellently designed and engineered, the Armor+ MX is both stylish and functional. It also has several tried and tested features, such as the removable hard drive cage and the tool-less optical drive bays and expansion slots, and some unique ones, such as a huge 230mm fan and the sliding tray at the top of the case.

Thermaltake Armor+ MX Review

Gigabyte M912V Touch Screen Netbook - Hands On Preview
Hardware Canucks posted a preview of the upcoming Gigabyte M912V Touch Screen Netbook.

The M912v's physical specs are similar to most others in its category, based on the Intel Atom 1.6GHz processor, sporting 1GB of DDR2 memory, 160GB SATA HDD and an 8.9in widescreen touch screen. Wait, touch screen? Gigabyte has entered the market with a zinger =96 developing one of the most affordable tablet PCs and pairing it with the netbook outline; the next closest competitor from Fujitsu has not yet been released, but is nearly identical in spec and rumored to be nearly double in price. Our article gives a report of our hands on look at the Gigabyte M912V, the latest evolution of the netbook.

Gigabyte M912V Touch Screen Netbook - Hands On Preview

n-Trance N-Tegrity 1GB Secure Storage Review
Hardware Pacers has posted a review on the n-Trance N-Tegrity 1GB Secure Storage

The n-Trance n-Tegrity Professional Secure Data Storage device is a great product for users who need security along with data storage needs. With data devices ranging from 256Mb - 4Gb of space, users can select a device based on storage needs. Multiple security features enable a user to choose between a variety of security functions allowing for a defense in depth strategy. Users can select options making data more or less secure based on individual needs. The device allows for both biometric and password combining the elements of 'who you are' and 'what you know.

n-Trance N-Tegrity 1GB Secure Storage Review

XFX GTX 280 XXX Video Card Review
I4U NEWS published a review of the XFX GTX 280 XXX Video Card

Today the XFX GTX 280 XXX video card is up for review. This is the factory-overclocked version of the GTX 280 we looked at a few months back. The card shares the same features in common with the factory clocked GTX 280. Support for NVIDIA PhysX, CUDA, and HDCP are standard. Of all the versions of the GTX 280 offered by XFX, the XXX has the highest clock speeds.

XFX GTX 280 XXX Video Card Review

Team Group Xtreem DDR3-1866 2GB Memory Kit Review
TweakTown posted a review on the Team Group Xtreem DDR3-1866 2GB Memory Kit

While DDR2 isn’t dead yet, DDR3 has now been given the full go ahead. Intel will no longer support DDR2 on its upcoming Core i7 platform, rather going with Tri-Channel DDR3 only. And AMDs move to DDR3 is evident with the AM3+ CPUs already on the road map. DDR2 has had its time in the sun and it’s time to finally pass on the baton.

Team Group has brought all its guns to bear on the DDR3 market with the Xtreem 1866 Kit, aimed for overclockers with an 1866MHz operating frequency. Will it manage to live up to expectations? Let’s have a look and see.

Team Group Xtreem DDR3-1866 2GB Memory Kit Review

Tagan ICY BOX IB-NAS4220-B NAS Review
Virtual-Hideout posted a review on the Tagan ICY BOX IB-NAS4220-B NAS

Until recently, I never thought about purchasing something like the Icy Box IB-NAS4220-B External NAS Enclosure. In fact, the only enclosures needed were for sheer back up. Then one day I thought to myself, it would be nice if I could access my files from any PC connected to the network. No more need for 3 or 4 separate external drive enclosures for each room with hard drives. It gets a little pricey when you have 3 or 4 systems. The NAS4220 really centralizes the storage need more efficiently.

Tagan ICY BOX IB-NAS4220-B NAS Review

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Review
OCC has published a new review on the Intel Core 2 Duo E7200

It took 1.39 volts to get to 4050MHz but to go higher Prime stable required ridiculously high voltages. I dont mind pushing it but when running LinPack the temperatures spiked to 110 degrees right off the bat with the volts at the 1.55 I used to run the E8400 up to 4.5GHz. So knowing where my maximum speed was, I decided to see what kind of FSB I could get from the board and E7200. I dropped the multiplier down to 7 and started at 525FSB since this was the limit on the E8400. No problem! Moving in 5MHz increments I finally reached that wall at 545FSB. At this point it was time to start upping the multiplier to find the best mix of FSB and maximum speed that the E7200 would run at. 540 x 7 is the final overclock for this chip. Not quite the 2.0GHz worth of overclock I had originally thought possible but you gotta think, 1.55GHz worth of performance gained with a little work ain't too shabby.

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Review

J&W's MINIX 780G mini-ITX HTPC mobo
Bit-Tech published a review of J&W's MINIX 780G mini-ITX HTPC mobo

It's certainly not perfect - the BIOS is mostly there but it really needs some work, it still needs some airflow on its passive heatsinks, and the AMD drivers are temperamental but these are minor irritations or teething troubles only. Once it's up and running it works great - we ran at least half a dozen CPUs in it without issue and even overclocked the SO-DIMMs with very little fuss.

Basically, its currently the best ultra-SFF solution you can buy for a HD-capable home theatre; its on-board audio is very good, it has oodles of connectivity and its performance is at least as good as the competition so if you're after new HTPC and you're under size constraints, stick the J&W MINIX 780G high on your list because we'd recommend it.

J&W's MINIX 780G mini-ITX HTPC mobo

DirectX 11: A look at what's coming
Bit-Tech published a feature titled DirectX 11: A look at what's coming

Although DirectX 11 is scheduled for release in conjunction with the next-generation Windows operating system, it's not as far away as you'd first think. Kev Gee said the company is planning to release a preview of the new API as early as November this year -- that's just a few short months away. When that arrives, the playing field will be a lot clearer and the specs will be much closer to being finalised.

Gee gave a quick glimpse at some of the other improvements scheduled to make it into DirectX 11, but there's every chance that some of these might be removed. I think it's safe to say the main features we've talked about today //will be in D3D11, but those that we haven't discussed in detail are probably still on the waiting list.

Because of this, it's hard to make any sweeping judgements on those additional features at this early stage. However, we can talk about the features that are all but 100 percent confirmed -- things like Tessellation, the Compute Shader, and multi-threading in particular.

DirectX 11: A look at what's coming

Corsair Dominator DDR2 4GB PC2-8500 RAM Kit Review
Futurelooks reviews the Corsair Dominator DDR2 4GB PC2-8500 RAM Kit

When Windows Vista was released, we were suddenly forced to rethink our standards for minimum memory in a system. With the current versions of Windows XP, 512MB or RAM could get you by, 1GB was considered the minimum, and 2GB was the power-user option. Vista caused an over-night doubling of those numbers. Thanks to the release of ever-more punishing games, and the drop of RAM prices, 4GB is much more attainable and far more useful. The Corsair Dominator 4GB PC2-8500 RAM Kit is just such a product, providing 4GB of dual-channel DDR2 memory for just under $150.

Corsair Dominator DDR2 4GB PC2-8500 RAM Kit Review