HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX graphics card Review
Bit-Tech published a review of the HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX graphics card

We like the HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX, we like it a lot in fact. It combines one of, if not the best third party cooling solutions we've tested with a healthy factory overclock and a custom-designed PCB that builds upon the reference design's power circuitry in particular. As you know, we're not particularly impressed with the stock cooler on the Radeon HD 4850 -- it's not that it is a bad design, per se, it just doesn't do a good enough job of keeping the card cool without being a little on the noisy side. Without a doubt then, if you're in the market for a Radeon HD 4850, we'd recommend looking at one with an after market cooling solution.

The one thing we haven't really touched upon until now is the card's price -- in the UK, it will set you back around £135 including VAT. Sapphire's Radeon HD 4850 Toxic Edition graphics card, which features the Zalman VF900 dual heatpipe GPU cooler, shot up in price soon after we reviewed it but it has since settled back down again. We've found it on sale for around the same price as the HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX but in this case we think the HIS product is better equipped for the enthusiast -- the IceQ 4 cooler is just overall a better design in our opinion.

So, on the face of it, the HIS Radeon HD 4850 Ice Q 4 TurboX is pretty good value for money considering what you get, but we'd like to see it a little cheaper, even if it's only by about five to ten pounds. You see, Powercolor's Radeon HD 4850 PCS+ is available for just over £120---albeit without a bundle---and that also has a pretty good third party cooling solution. But it's again not as good as the IceQ 4 cooler on this card from HIS.

Ultimately, if you're looking at a Radeon HD 4850 and the heat generated by the stock cooler is a concern of yours, it's going to come down to what's most important to you. You could spend £120 on a card that doesn't come with a bundle, but features a pretty good (and very quiet) cooling solution, or you could opt for the HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX at £135.

The latter features what we think is a better all round cooling solution, because not only is it at least as quiet as the PCS+ cooler, but it also blows heat generated by the card out the back of your case -- that's something you can't say about either Powercolor's or Sapphire's custom-cooled cards. What's more, the IceQ 4 TurboX comes bundled up in a retail box unlike the Powercolor and to some that's an attraction. The question is whether it's worth an extra £15 for all of this and that's debatable in the grand scheme of things.

Alternatively, you can go it alone and buy one of the cheaper stock-cooled Radeon HD 4850s and an after market cooler like Akasa's AK-VC03, which retails for around £17.50. The total cost would come to around £120, including VAT, but it means potentially voiding your warranty. What HIS really needs to do is make this option an unattractive one, but right now it just doesn't seem to be that way.

HIS Radeon HD 4850 IceQ 4 TurboX graphics card Review

Imation Apollo 500GB 2.5" Portable Hard Drive Review
TestFreaks.com posted a review on the Imation Apollo 500GB 2.5" Portable Hard Drive

A few days ago I took a look at a Verbatim 160GB 2.5" portable hard drive and I found it to be a decent little product, but today I've got the Imation Apollo 500GB 2.5" portable hard drive for review. The Apollo is well made, looks nice, is small and portable and actually averages out to be less expensive per gigabyte when compared to others out there.

Imation Apollo 500GB 2.5" Portable Hard Drive Review



OCZ's EliteXStreme 800W PSU
Bit-Tech published a review of OCZ's EliteXStreme 800W PSU

Sniffing around there's not much in the 800W range we'd buy to be honest - we know the OCZ is certainly quiet, has excellent voltages and a belly of quality PC Power innards which we know does tick quite a few boxes of our readers. Our personal choice would still be the TX750W still - we prefer its choice and quality of cables and the rugged external design is a little different, but the OCZ EliteXStream 800W is not that far behind. Basically, if you really want a very quiet high wattage PSU with sleek black looks and the cable arrangement suits your build, then the OCZ EliteXStream 800W is a good buy.

OCZ's EliteXStreme 800W PSU

LapLogic G800 Aerogel Extreme Notebook Cooler Review
HardwareLogic posted a review on the LapLogic G800 Aerogel Extreme Notebook Cooler

The G800 Aerogel Extreme is aimed at professionals and enthusiasts alike that abhor having to suffer a notebook's hot exhaust on their laps. By utilizing the latest in space-age materials, the G800 lap desk is primed for consumers that demand a better cooling solution for their mobile lives. Can it deliver?

LapLogic G800 Aerogel Extreme Notebook Cooler Review

ASUS My Cinema U3100Mini USB 2.0 Digital TV Receiver Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the ASUS My Cinema U3100Mini USB 2.0 Digital TV Receiver

With the laptop market growing daily, the developers at ASUS figured that the time was right to bring a USB 2.0 digital TV receiver to the market. With the ASUS EeePC doing so well it makes sense that ASUS bring a product like this to market and just by looking at the pearl-white ASUS My Cinema - U3100Mini you can see for certain that the EeePC was a key influence.

ASUS My Cinema U3100Mini USB 2.0 Digital TV Receiver Review

Pinnacle movieBox Ultimate Review
OCModShop posted Pinnacle movieBox Ultimate Review

In the world of independent film makers, there are several different paintbrushes to be used before your masterpiece is complete. The hard drive or film that goes in your camera has to be of the highest quality, the camera needs to have optimal performance with a quality lens, and when you are editing your video you need the best hardware and software to capture the video from your camera and edit it to perfection. For the technically-minded film maker in us, Pinnacle has given us another paintbrush to make help make that masterpiece come to life.

Pinnacle movieBox Ultimate Review

XSpice Croon 750w Review
XSReviews reviewed the XSpice Croon 750w power supply

There are certain products in the PC hardware world that are completely dominated by big brand names like graphics cards and of course, CPUs. On the other hand, there are others that are more open and you often see little known companies popping up. One of these was kind enough to send me one of their power supplies was XSpice. The one they sent through is the Croon, and it's got a large 750w capacity. Let's see how it holds up.

XSpice Croon 750w Review

Enermax Aurora Premium Keyboard & Enermax JAZZ Review
DriverHeaven takes a look at the Enermax Aurora Premium Keyboard & Enermax JAZZ

Enermax are probably best known for their power supplies which have won numerous awards on DriverHeaven. The Galaxy range has powered many of our review systems since its release and newer ranges such as the Modu 82+ provide high efficiency and low noise which is ideal for the more mainstream system. Power supplies are not Enermax's only area of expertise and they have slowly been expanding their product catalogue over the past few years to include items such as cases, keyboards and drive enclosures.

We previously reviewed two such items, the Aurora keyboard and Jazz IDE enclosure and came away suitably impressed. Recently each received a revamp with the Jazz moving to the SATA interface and the Aurora receiving some design changes and the addition of enhanced audio functionality. Today we will be taking a look at both to find out if these changes are for the better.

Enermax Aurora Premium Keyboard & Enermax JAZZ Review

Free Anti-Virus Roundup
Velocity Reviews have a roundup of the most popular free Anti-Virus applications, which provide excellent protection for different types of users

Although it isn't possible to fully protect your computer from a huge array of viral, spyware, and other malware threats, a good anti-virus application goes a long way to securing your PC. Now that most computers are permanently connected to the internet, it is more important than ever to ensure you have an up-to-date and reliable anti-virus package on your computer. Some people still don't have any installed, thinking that because they are careful what they download, they will be safe. Others don't like the thought of losing even the slightest amount of performance from their PC. However, the importance of getting a good virus scanner cannot be underestimated – and this lesson is often only learned after a virus infection.

Free Anti-Virus Roundup

Razer Salmosa Gaming Mouse Review
Futurelooks checks out one the Razer Salmosa Gaming Mouse

Razer has always used interesting names for their gaming peripherals. We’ve even reviewed a few of them. However the name for their latest gaming mouse, when pronounced, sounds more like a wonderful South Asian treat then a high performance pointing device. Still the Razer Salmosa represents an easy entry into the gaming peripheral market for those who want something that performs better then the $10 mouse that came with their system.

Razer Salmosa Gaming Mouse Review

Catching the Eclipse - MSI's X58 Motherboard Preview
Hardware Zone published a preview of MSI's X58 Motherboard

MSI is the next manufacturer to show us a tantalizing glimpse of the Intel X58 chipset with its upcoming Eclipse motherboard. Featuring MSI's DrDOS technology and a new dark blue color scheme, it's a departure from MSI's usual colors. Here's a pictorial feast for your eyes.

Catching the Eclipse - MSI's X58 Motherboard Preview

HighPoint RocketRAID 2640X4 PCI-E SAS Controller Review
TweakTown posted a review on the HighPoint RocketRAID 2640X4 PCI-E SAS Controller

How SAS works is very similar to SATA; it uses the same seven wires to connect the drive to the host controller. However, instead of sending ATA packets, SCSI data bits are sent along the controller cable to the controller which then decodes them. This means that the drive has no interface chip; similar to parallel SCSI; it’s all handled on the controller card itself.

Today we have HighPoints Value series SAS controller card, aimed at the mid-range workstation or desktop with high data demands. The RocketRAID 2640X4 today makes its appearance here at TweakTown.

HighPoint RocketRAID 2640X4 PCI-E SAS Controller Review