MSI HD 4670 Review
Bjorn3D take a look at the MSI HD 4670

The mid-range video card segment has been booming lately compared to just a few years ago when the HD 2600 and GeForce 8600 series were launched by ATI and Nvidia respectively. There was a huge gap then between the mid-range cards and the much more expensive high-end cards. This hole is being filled currently with the ATI HD 3670 and HD 3650 along with the 8800 GS, 9600 GT, and 9600 GSO from Nvidia. Now, ATI has engineered more cards to fill this gap with the HD 4650 and the HD 4670. Today we have the HD 4670 by MSI. This card hopes to keep money in your pocket while giving you great gaming performance.

MSI HD 4670 Review

OCZ Technology Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse Review
Bigbruin.com has posted a review on the OCZ Technology Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse

This review will be taking a look at a provocatively named new mouse from OCZ Technology that includes features like on-the-fly resolution management, adjustable mouse weights, and an ergonomic design. Just this short list of items makes the Dominatrix laser gaming mouse sound promising; just don't expect this dominatrix to bend you over a table and give you a spanking!

OCZ Technology Dominatrix Laser Gaming Mouse Review

Fallout 3 (PC) Review
bit-tech published a review of Fallout 3 for the PC

Fallout 3 is a game that's going to divide audiences though -- that much we're already certain of. Players will find themselves drawn into two camps, with those who love it going to battle against those who still think it's just "//Oblivion with guns."

So, is this just //Oblivion with guns? Well, to a degree yes. There are still a few flies in the ointment, like the enemies that spot you from miles away and the bloatflies that will chase you endlessly across the game world just when you've run out of ammo. At the same time though, it's also something entirely fresh and unique.

It's neither totally a //Fallout game, nor totally //Oblivion -- it's wholly new. It doesn't work all the time, but when it does it's glorious and unbelievably good, so we think it's well worth looking past the few niggles for. It gets a score of 9/10, though admittedly it's only just scraping that if we're going to be totally honest, because it's fun and significant, if not quite as good as it could and arguably should have been.

Fallout 3 (PC) Review



Patriot Warp V2 128GB 2.5 Solid State Drive Review
TweakTown posted a review on the Patriot Warp V2 128GB 2.5” Solid State Drive

Just yesterday on my monthly journey to Fry’s, I noticed several retail boxed Patriot Warp Drives in a locked cabinet. The 128 GB model like the one we are looking at today was on sale for 369.00 U.S.D., around 20 Dollars more than the Newegg price. For many the high cost will be a big turn off and the Warp will not enjoy the same commercial success that a VelociRaptor will, but a 128GB SSD just a few months back would have set you back 1100 Dollars or more.

The Patriot Warp that we are looking at today is actually the second revision to the Warp Series. Very few of the first versions were released and unfortunately I didn’t have a Rev 1 sample on hand to test against the Rev 2. It should be noted that the packaging we received our Warp in did not specify if it was a V1 or V2, but we were assured it was the new V2. We will of course compare the drive to the other 2.5-inch drives we have tested since moving over to the new hard disk workstation.

Patriot Warp V2 128GB 2.5 Solid State Drive Review

Far Cry 2 performance in-depth
TechSpot takes an in-depth look at the performance of Far Cry 2

If like us you are a fan of first-person shooters, then there is a good chance you have spent the better part of this year anticipating the arrival of Far Cry 2. Last week marked the release date for this awaited sequel, and so we immediately jumped in and bought our copy. However, rather than play the single player mission from start to finish and then go into some multiplayer action, we have been hard at work for bringing you this article.

As usual our in-depth performance review takes various ATI and Nvidia graphics cards and compares them in this new first-person shooter title. Having recently completed a similar article with Crytek's Crysis Warhead, we have been keen to see if Far Cry 2 is just as demanding.

The quality presets tested include Ultra High, Very High, and High, which will be tested at 1280x1024, 1680x1050, and 1920x1200 resolutions. The built-in Far Cry 2 benchmark tool has been used to test the various graphics cards, so you will be able to accurately compare your systems performance to ours.

Far Cry 2 performance in-depth

Brother MFC-790CW Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer Review
TestFreaks.com posted a review on the Brother MFC-790CW Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer

A little while ago I took a look at an excellent all-in-one printer from Epson, the Workforce 600, today for review I've got another, this one is from Brother, it's the MFC-790CW. It's almost as feature packed as the Epson, but the Brother has a phone built in, LCD touchscreen and voice messaging center as well, something the Epson did not have.

Brother MFC-790CW Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer Review

Silverstone Raven Gaming Mouse Review
t-break posted a review on the Silverstone Raven Gaming Mouse

Primarily a PC case, power supply unit and cooling solutions manufacturer, Silverstone is treading new waters with the launch of its first input device. The Silverstone Raven is a gaming oriented mouse, not to be mistaken with the upcoming Silverstone Raven case which has what some might call, “a questionable design"

Silverstone Raven Gaming Mouse Review

JayBird JB-200 Bluetooth Stereo Headset Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the JayBird JB-200 Bluetooth Stereo Headset

The JayBird JB-200 is said to be the stay-put, out-of-the-way Bluetooth stereo headset for those that have active lifestyles. The headset is water and sweat resistant design that comes backed by a LIFETIME warranty against sweat. If you like to work out and don't want to worry about killing your Bluetooth stereo headset the JayBird JB-200 might be what you need.

JayBird JB-200 Bluetooth Stereo Headset Review

Zalman CNPS9300 AT CPU Cooler Review
HardwareLogic posted a review on the Zalman CNPS9300 AT CPU Cooler

Zalman recently sent us the new CNPS9300 AT that they tout as an "ultra quiet" cooler. We were glad to slap it on our test bench to see how it performs. Not only are we going to check on the acoustics, but we want to see if this still offers the same chill to our CPU that most Zalman products offer. Stick with us to find out.

Zalman CNPS9300 AT CPU Cooler Review

SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Plus USB Flash Drive Review
Futurelooks checks out a new flash drive from SanDisk

SanDisk has long since upheld its strong reputation for making good flash memory products. In fact, SanDisk holds the patents to a number of flash memory technologies, so it makes sense that the company is also known for making some of the best stuff on the market. In particular, the Cruzer line of USB flash drives has always served me well and SanDisk recently released the newest addition to this family: the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Plus.

SanDisk Cruzer Titanium Plus USB Flash Drive Review

Vantec Aeroflow FX 92 VAF-9225 Heatsink Review
FrostyTech posted a review on the Vantec Aeroflow FX 92 VAF-9225 Heatsink

The Vantec Aeroflow FX 92 heatsink is the little brother to Vantec's Aeroflow FX 120, though hardly a weakling. Vantec's Aeroflow FX 92 (model VAF-9225) heatsink makes use of four white rubber vibration absorbing posts to hold the 92mm PWM fan in place, a trend we're seeing used widely these days. The fan spins anywhere from 1025-2800RPM and the heatsink weighs 432 grams.

Vantec Aeroflow FX 92 VAF-9225 Heatsink Review

PNY MicroSD Mobility Pack Review
ITreviewed posted a review on the PNY MicroSD Mobility Pack

The aim of PNY's Mobility Pack is to avoid compatibility slot issues by offering the right adapters to ensure your microSD card will connect with the majority of devices. The Mobility Pack is a small, light and easy way to capture, share and transfer content from one device to another so that you can get the most from your mobile devices, but managing such small peripherals (especially inserting and removing the microSD card into the USB adapter) will probably be impossible for those with fat fingers. Claimed data write speeds of up to 7.0MB/s and read speeds up to 15MB/s are totally average too, but the Mobility Pack's main priority is convenience. It comes with a 5-year manufacturer warranty, though we're sure PNY doesn't cover lost cards.

PNY MicroSD Mobility Pack Review

Dell Studio Hybrid Small Form Factor Desktop Review
HotHardware.com posted a review on the Dell Studio Hybrid Small Form Factor Desktop

Two perpetually, almost fad-like and recurring themes for computing technology in 2008 are low power, environmentally friendly products as well as tiny, small form-factor or ultra-portable machines. Power consumption and size -- it has become undeniably hip and cool to offer products that cater to the new carbon footprint and mechanical footprint-minded consumer. If you didn't know better, it almost seems like the introduction of Asus' Eee PC started the craze back in Q4 of '07 but clearly, at least small form-factor system have been around for many years.

Some of you will remember Shuttle's line of wildly popular barebones XPCs which became an underground hit with many in the DYI crowd looking to build Home Theater setups or fully capable and portable LAN boxes. Shuttle hit the scenes with this system over six years ago, if you can believe that, and they've been growing in popularity ever since with the recent small form-factor/eco-friendly frenzy breathing even more life into the market niche'. And you know SFF (small form-factor) systems have arrived when the "big guns" like Dell set their sights on this competitive arena.

Dell's marketing team had their collective thinking caps on for the brand naming of their new line of Studio Hybrid SFF desktops. While the machine is comprised of traditional electronics and is powered by standard AC current, the term "Hybrid" conjures up efficiencies in power consumption along with perhaps a physical profile that slices cleanly through the air. Click the link below and check it out...

Dell Studio Hybrid Small Form Factor Desktop Review

Galaxy GeForce GTX 260+ 896MB Graphics Card Review
PC Per posted a review on the Galaxy GeForce GTX 260+ 896MB Graphics Card

The updated GeForce GTX 260+ GPU with 216 shader processors is really one of the best choices in today's graphics market that balances top performance with a reasonable price. In this article we are looking at a card from Galaxy that takes that GPU and overclocks it while selling it for a price that might make you go "Hmmm".

Galaxy GeForce GTX 260+ 896MB Graphics Card Review

Creative HS-1200 Wireless Headset Review
Metku.net took a closer look at Creative's HS-1200 Wireless Headset.

Wireless really is one of the buzz-words in the business at the moment. It seems like anything wireless is cool nowadays. Sure
wireless hardware will cut down on the cable-clutter that we often find on our desks, but will this come without a cost?

Creative HS-1200 Wireless Headset Review

Vidabox Premium Wireless Keyboard Review
techPowerUp posted a review on the Vidabox Premium Wireless Keyboard

With HTPC's gaining more and more in popularity, various input devices and peripherals for them are becoming a more integral part of the market. With many options to choose from for keyboards, mice and the combination of both, it's hard to come to a conclusion on what suits the HTPC best. Vidabox may have an answer with their Vidabox Premium Wireless Keybaord w/ laser trackball as an all in one solution.

Vidabox Premium Wireless Keyboard Review

Gigabyte EP45-UD3P Review
Techgage.com posted a review of Gigabyte's latest P45 motherboard, the UD3P

Looking to build a new machine on a budget? Then look no further than choosing Gigabyte's EP45-UD3P as your choice for motherboard. It may not offer a lot in the area of bling, but it includes a solid design, lots of connectivity options (including 8 USB and S-ATA), fantastic overclocking potential and best of all, it comes in at an average price of $115.

Gigabyte EP45-UD3P Review

iBuyPower Australia FragBox SFF PC
TweakTown takes a look at the iBuyPower Australia FragBox SFF PC

The thing is, there’s something cool about having a 30" monitor powered by this tiny machine. Most of the things I find myself buying these days are because I want them, not need them. A Micro-ATX system would sit nicely in that category. The problem is that for so long there has never really been the components out there to really build a system that could power such a large monitor. But this has changed a few months ago thanks to two companies; the first was Lian Li who brought out a Micro-ATX case that was small, but not too small. What it allowed you to do was have a small footprint whilst still holding the goods.

The other company was DFI; the release of the LANParty Jr board based on the P45 chipset brought the biggest smile to my face. Talking to the guys down at IBuyPower Australia, it was only a matter of time before the two pieces of equipment found themselves merged together. The time has come and that time is today. This is one machine that you will find yourself getting excited about. Upon powering the machine up, I felt like a kid in a candy store…with all the windows open and a hurricane coming through. But we will get into that a bit later.

iBuyPower Australia FragBox SFF PC

OCZ Gladiator MAX Review
OCC has published a new review on the OCZ Gladiator MAX

The OCZ Gladiator MAX takes the OCZ name to a new level with the usage of the direct heatpipe contact, which allowed it to cool the Q9450 to a nice level. The towering look, which seems to be very popular, seems to be how every cooler out on the market is designed here lately. I really liked the fact that OCZ decided to use a large 120mm fan for the active cooling part of the cooler and the fact that it is powered by a 4 pin PWM connector, allowing the cooler to adapt to the heat load being pushed on it, for those who want a quiet case. I really liked the usage of the push-pin mounting hardware, as this makes changing the cooler you have installed quite easy, as well as making sure it's sturdy and locked onto the motherboard. There is the lever design mounting hardware for the AMD side of things, which adds more value to the cooler. The amount of heatpipes is sufficient for the load, but some of the coolers out there are using more and more heatpipes to cool the processor. However, four have been proven to work quite well.

OCZ Gladiator MAX Review

Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review
Tweaknews.net posted a review on the Thecus N4100 Pro NAS

Once again, Thecus has shown us an impressive product with the N4100 Pro. The setup process from start to finish was easy enough for a novice, but there are many additional features that advanced users will enjoy tweaking as well.

Thecus N4100 Pro NAS Review

Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime iPod Alarm Clock Review
I4U NEWS published a review of the Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime iPod Alarm Clock.

Today we are looking at the Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime iPod charging alarm clock. The device has dual alarms and a motion sensitive snooze function. If you are looking for a new iPod dock for the bedroom, the Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime may be perfect. All dockable iPod and iPhone models are supported and non-dockable iPod models and other MP3 players are supported via a 3.5mm jack on the rear of the device.

Logitech Pure-Fi Anytime iPod Alarm Clock Review

Microsoft Arc Mouse Review
Everything USB posted a review on the Microsoft Arc Mouse

Available in glossy red or black, the Microsoft Arc Mouse is a rather unique blend of style, portability and functionality. Possessing an artful hinged semicircular shape that allows the mouse to fold to nearly half-size for travel, the 2.4 GHz wireless Arc Mouse boldly claims to be portable while offering the comfort of a full-size mouse. Many manufacturers have tried to make the ubiquitous mouse more travel-friendly, but all to date significantly sacrifice either comfort or features. How does the Arc Mouse succeed at stylishly trying to provide the best of both worlds? Read on.

Microsoft Arc Mouse Review

HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB Review
The Guru of 3D posted a review on the HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB

Here we nicely and lengthy test the HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB. A graphics card with 1600 tiny little sub-processors on that X2 hauling ass on your frame rate, and that's the success of the Radeon HD 4870 X2 .. incredible 3D computing performance, RAW power.

Obviously HIS technology jumped that bandwagon as well, and though we regret to not see a customized cooler on this product, it once again managed to impress us very much.

HIS Radeon HD 4870 X2 2048MB Review

AMD's 790GX chipset - Foxconn A7DA-S Motherboard Review
Elite Bastards posted Foxconn A7DA-S motherboard review

I'd love to spend some time discussing the technical details of how Advanced Clock Calibration works - Except we don't actually know. How ACC does what it does is a well-kept secret at the moment, but the general consensus is that this functionality uses six previously unused pins on the southbridge to perform some kind of additional tweaking to the CPU. These changes allow for some supposedly significant improvements (AMD quotes in the region of an extra 200MHz) to the overclocking potential of Phenom CPUs, making the use of an SB750-equipped system with a Phenom Black Edition processor a particularly exciting prospect - Needless to say we'll be taking a look at how ACC affects overclocking with just such a configuration during the course of today's review.

AMD's 790GX chipset - Foxconn A7DA-S Motherboard Review

HIS ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB Graphics Card Review
Bit-Tech published a review of the HIS ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB graphics card

When you look at the Radeon HD 4830 in isolation, only comparing it to what Nvidia has on the market at the moment, it's a pretty good buy if you only care about frame rates in games, but unfortunately the world doesn't work that way. There's a certain card called the Radeon HD 4850, which is not only at least 15 percent faster (and more often than not the margin is greater than 20 percent) in games, but is also available for just over £100 including VAT, making it only £10 more expensive.

Of course, the card we've just linked doesn't have the best cooler on it in the world, but then neither does the HIS Radeon HD 4830 we've looked at here (when it comes to build quality). What's more, HIS has essentially cannibalised the reference design PCB by pulling components off while keeping the card functional in order to cut costs down. Cannibalising is probably a little strong because the card works fine in all but World in Conflict (where it black-screened when loading save points and starting a new game) and it overclocked beyond specification as well, although not as far as we'd hoped. Some would argue that it's a clever optimisation of the AMD reference design designed to keep costs down.

That's exactly what HIS has done here though, because its Radeon HD 4830 is at least £10 cheaper than any other 4830 in the UK at the moment. And at under £90 including VAT, that's quite a significant difference. Unfortunately, the underlying problem with the HIS Radeon HD 4830 (and the 4830 in general) is that, at least for the time being, there are Radeon HD 4850s that are more attractively priced considering the performance increase you'll net.

On the Nvidia front, there is of course the benefit of a more robust GPU computing infrastructure and significantly better performance in Folding@Home (if that's something you care about). There's also the new Release 180 driver just around the corner too, and they're promising some massive performance improvements - we'll be looking at that shortly in a couple of games. The drivers could change the picture a little and make the GeForce 9800 GT (or 8800 GT, for that matter) a much more viable option for the gamer but we'll have to wait and see how they impact the landscape.

When AMD first talked to us about the Radeon HD 4830, we were expecting the card to cannibalise Radeon HD 4850 sales because it'd perform so close to the card of choice amongst many gamers today. Sadly, that hasn't turned out to be the case and instead we see the well-priced Radeon HD 4850s out there eating away at the juicy pie AMD had baked for the Radeon HD 4830's entry into the market.

Overall then, the HIS Radeon HD 4830 isn't a bad card, but we'd recommend spending just that little bit more to buy a card like the Radeon HD 4850 as it has a more potent future ahead of it in our opinion.

HIS ATI Radeon HD 4830 512MB Graphics Card Review