Here a roundup of today's reviews and articles, including ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional (AMD 990FX) Motherboard Review, EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win 2GB Dual-GPU Graphics Card Review, and Upgrading From Intel P55 w/ Lynnfield to Intel Z68 w/ Sandy Bridge



ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional (AMD 990FX) Motherboard Review
TweakTown posted a review on the ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional (AMD 990FX) Motherboard

We're getting through the boards, though, and the latest one for us to fire up comes from ASRock and follows the Fatal1ty series. The ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional looks the part, but today we'll see how it performs with the new AMD FX-8150 from AMD.

As usual, the first thing we'll do is check out the package to see what's going on. Once we've done that we'll start to move onto the board and see what features we've got on offer. After we've done that, we'll check out the BIOS to see what's going on before we get into the BIOS and have a look at that while also taking the time to overclock our processor.

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MSI GT683 R Gaming Laptop Review
Madshrimps posted a review on the MSI GT683 R Gaming Laptop

After testing MSI's GT780 gaming notebook I must admit I was pretty impressed by it's allround and gaming performance. Of course, a high end gaming notebook also carries a pretty beefy price tag. big screen , decent powerful GPU and CPU, 8Gb of ram, dual harddrives. Well the price tag for the included components was fair, but what happens if you want a gaming notebook and don't have 1500 euros to cash out? Todays reviewed MSI GT683R laptop might have you covered for a fraction of the price. The specifications of the GT683 don't seem that impressive at first glance, but maybe it can still pack some serious punch. Let's open the box and see what's inside.

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EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win 2GB Dual-GPU Graphics Card Review
PC Perspective posted a review on the EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win 2GB Dual-GPU Graphics Card

The new GTX 560 Ti 2Win from EVGA follows directly in the footsteps of the GTX 460 model - we are essentially looking at a pair of GTX 560 Ti GPUs on a single PCB running in SLI multi-GPU mode. Clock speeds, memory capacity, performance - it should all be pretty much the same as if you were running a pair of GTX 560 Ti cards independently.

The performance on EVGA's new GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win is actually pretty impressive and more than lived up to the claim of being 30% faster than the GTX 580 reference card from EVGA. In my testing, only our Civilization V game showed less impressive results but likely due to a more CPU-limited engine than most titles. Metro 2033, Lost Planet 2 and Bad Company 2 showed that when a game really takes advantage of multi-GPU scaling, the added GPU computing power 768 CUDA cores on the dual GTX 560 Ti GPUs versus the 512 on the GTX 580 card can really shine.

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OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid PCI-E SSD Tests
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid PCI-E SSD

That moment when solid state drive technology can offer the high capacity of large hard disk counterparts is nearly here. OCZ Technology, a pioneer in the SSD market, combines their experience with both SATA and PCI-Express SSDs to offer the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid SSD. Based on OCZ Virtualized Controller Architecture technology, RevoDrive Hybrid uses Dataplex caching software to pair a 100GB SandForce SF-2281 SSD to a 1TB 7200RPM hard drive. The results are surprising: a bootable PCI-Express device with the speed of a solid state drive and the storage capacity of a hard disk drive. Join Benchmark Reviews as we test the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid PCI-E SSD RVDHY-FH-1T.

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EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win Dual GPU Review
Hardware Canucks posted a review of the brand new EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2Win Dual GPU graphics card.

Dual GPU cards are rarities these days since the amount of time, effort and engineering capital that needs to be dedicated towards designing one is substantial. While most board partners usually avoid designing these high end niche products, EVGA has jumped into the pool head first with their new GTX 560 Ti 2Win. Packing a pair of GF114 cores and 2GB of memory, this new card should have what it takes to effectively bridge the gap between NVIDIA's GTX 580 and GTX 590.

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VisionTek Ultimate 6GB DDR3-1866 Review
PureOverclock has published a review of the VisionTek Ultimate 6GB DDR3-1866 memory.

VisionTek is a company probably known by most for producing graphic cards but unknown by some; they have been a jack of many trades for some time. They produce graphic cards, network cards, TV tuners, power supplies, and recently, memory. VisionTek has introduced a comprehensive memory line that features triple channel memory kits, among others. Can their Ulimate series memory compete in the PC marketplace with enthusiasts like us? Let's find out.

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AMD Bulldozer Water Cooler Review
Neoseeker takes a look at an AMD Bulldozer Water Cooler

In our review of the AMD FX-8150 last month, we noted that AMD would at some point begin bundling the new Bulldozer CPU with a stock water cooler with the promise of opening the doors to even better overclocking performance for enthusiasts. We've at last got our hands on the model which will come included with the FX-8150 in the near future, and we put it to the test in our updated coverage for the FX-8150 CPU. Find out just how large the additional overclocking headroom becomes with the upcoming stock water cooler.

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Raidon GR5630-WSB3 4-Bay Desktop Storage System Review
OCC has published a review on the Raidon GR5630-WSB3 4-Bay Desktop Storage System

When it comes to storage, it's not enough to offer just a bunch of space because storage is a commodity that even the most basic of systems today can offer. What you need is a compelling reason to spend your hard-earned dollars and if you're a one-trick pony like the GR5630-WSB3, then speed and price are your major selling points and the unit comes up short in this regard. From a price standpoint, the GR5630-WSB3 can be had for around $300. The Thecus N4100PRO can be found for $350, with other 4-bay units from QNAP and Synology ranging from $300 - $400. A NAS unit offers a lot more features and flexibility, which leads me to conclude that the value just isn't there in the GR5630-WSB3.

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Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79 Motherboard Preview
eTeknix.com published Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79 Motherboard Preview

With the launch of the Intel X79 based motherboards approaching very soon, certain models have been long awaited and of course, the main suspect is part of the Republic of Gamers range of boards from Asus. We were lucky enough to see the Rampage IV Extreme at a recent Asus X79 event and until now, was made to wait until we could get it into our test chamber.

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ECS P67H2-A Black Extreme Intel P67 Motherboard Review
PC Stats posted ECS P67H2-A Black Extreme Intel P67 Motherboard Review

In this article PCSTATS is reviewing the Intel P67-based ECS P67H2-A Black Extreme motherboard which uses a revised 'B3' stepping Intel P67 chipset. The ECS P67H2-A Black Extreme is a performance oriented ATX motherboard with a fantastic set of gaming and overclocking features, all set on a sleek black and grey PCB that'll make your expensive chassis proud. While the board does not officially support Crossfire/SLI, it can handle up to 3 videocards running in parallel thanks to an onboard Lucid HydraLogix 200 'LT24102' chip. Lucid's Hydra Core technology is notable because it supports combinations of nVidia and ATI graphics cards working together.

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PR: 1TB 3.5" USB 3.0 External Hard Drives from Iomega and Seagate
circuitREMIX takes a look at 1TB 3.5" USB 3.0 External Hard Drives from Iomega and Seagate

After our review of Vantec's USB 3.0 controller card, we learned of the benefits of upgrading to USB 3.0 from USB 2.0. You get to retain backwards compatibility, but the potential performance benefits can be huge. That's probably why most of the major external storage device manufacturers have adopted the 3.0 standard early on. The drives under the microscope are very similar on paper. They are no frills external drives with just a USB 3.0 backwards compatible interface. They are both 1TB in capacity and utilize 3.5" desktop hard drives. They're both from big names in the computer storage industry, Iomega and Seagate. Iomega is famous for its Zip Drives, and Seagate is one of the biggest hard drive manufacturers in the world. The drives we'll be looking at are Iomega's Prestige Desktop USB 3.0 hard drive, and Seagate's Expansion USB 3.0 hard drive.

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XEBEC Tech htpc Wireless Mini Keyboard Review
HardwareHeaven.com posted a review on the XEBEC Tech htpc Wireless Mini Keyboard

In the world of wireless keyboards UK based Xebec Tech doesn't necessarily spring to mind. Producing mainly wireless products this component designer and manufacturer is committed to bringing us the most modern and innovative designs in the global computer market.

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Solid State Drive Roundup 2011
Real World Labs posted Solid State Drive Roundup 2011

Back in 2010 we were proud to bring all of you the single largest SSD roundup to date with units from almost every manufacturer in the field. Today you can follow us once again in yet another unique comparison as we take a total of 16 brand new solid state drives through a large number of tests for all of you to see just which one's the king of the hill currently and which one's best suited for your personal needs.

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Buffalo MiniStation Extreme Review
Business Computing World published a review of the Jabra Supreme

Buffalo is a bit of a storage guru, but I'm left disappointed by the MiniStation Extreme. The drive looks great on paper, but iffy build quality and an irksome software install process that dumps Google software onto your computer isn't great. It's not a bad choice for globetrotters who travel with their PCs and require a robust portable HDD for transferring and sharing videos, large digital photo collections, music files and other data-intensive content, but Mac users are getting short-changed.

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Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Review
HotHardware.com posted a review on the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch

Not too long ago, we took an in-depth, hands-on look at the unlocked version of the Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone. At the time, the phone wasn't available in the US, so we weren't able to show you a hands-on video of a US version of the phone. Now, however, the Samsung Galaxy S II is available through Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. All of the phones have a similar look and feel, though there are a few differentiating points among the models.

We've been testing the Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, otherwise known as the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch for a couple weeks now, and we like what we see. In fact, we'd go as far as saying this is one of the best smartphones we've seen in the US this year...

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Dell Vostro V131 Review
Tech-Reviews.co.uk posted a review on the Dell Vostro V131

Dell are known the be the company that regularly brings out new laptops, and soon they will be releasing the Dell Vostro V131, which is both powerful and compact, and we've managed to get our hands on one for you guys!

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OCZ ZT Series 650 W Power Supply Review
Tech-Reviews.co.uk posted a review on the OCZ ZT Series 650 W Power Supply

The ZT Series is the latest power supply series from OCZ, with a full modular cabling system – meaning that even the main motherboard cable is detachable – and 80 Plus Bronze certification. Available in 550 W, 650 W, and 750 W versions, let's see if the 650 W model is a good buy.

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Upgrading From Intel P55 w/ Lynnfield to Intel Z68 w/ Sandy Bridge
Legit Reviews compared the Intel P55 w/ Lynnfield to Intel Z68 w/ Sandy Bridge platforms

Today we are doing something a bit different than the normal review. There have been numerous reviews of Sandy Bridge and the Z68 motherboards, many of which you can read here on Legit Reviews. The big question that we are asking is, is it worth it? We upgrade a last generation Lynnfield with a GTX470 rig to the current generation Sandy Bridge with a GTX570 rig to see if it is a leap or only a baby step ahead.

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AMD FX-8150 Multi-GPU Gameplay Performance Review
HardOCP posted their AMD FX-8150 Multi-GPU Gameplay Performance Review

We have just posted our AMD FX-8150 Multi-GPU gameplay performance review for your viewing pleasure (literally and figuratively), so jump on in and check it out.

We are taking the new AMD FX-8150 and giving it the power of Dual and Triple-SLI GeForce GTX 580 video cards. We are going to take the new CPU up to large NV Surround resolutions and see how performance stacks up when it comes to high-end gaming scenarios.

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Zalman CNPS 12X CPU cooler review
The Guru of 3D posted Zalman CNPS 12X CPU cooler review

The one that everybody remembers and still is going strong where the initial CNPS (Computer Noise Prevention System) CPU cooler, the copper somewhat rounded "butterfly" based coolers. That model has been the biggest success of all their coolers. Anno 2011 Zalman is still going strong on the concept and just when you think they can't cange anything on that design they proof that a top notch new cooler based off that old design can still work out well and look gorgeous.

The Zalman CNPS 12X comes with Zalmans heat transfer solution by utilizing composite heatpipe technology allowing a Q-Max of roughly 300W, along with a bigger design Zalman claims this cooler to be offering quiet operation and broad compatibility for Intel 2011/1156/1155/1366/775 & AMD AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2.

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MemoRight FTM Plus 240GB Solid State Drive Review
TweakTown posted MemoRight FTM Plus 240GB Solid State Drive Review

Fast-forward to 2011 and the SSD market has exploded with new and old companies fighting for supremacy. Solid state drives are now sold on retail shelves and at price points that are pushing them into commodity status. At this time many enthusiast computer people have already owned at least two solid state drives and feel that the technology is the only way to boot their PC. It's true there have been hurdles, a few eggs tossed on faces and more than a handful of ticked off people, but hearing about such issues is becoming less common.

One of the biggest challenges for consumers has been companies releasing products into the wild before the products have been deemed problem free. A few companies like MemoRight have taken a different path and waited until their products were right before going to market. This has led to several lost sales, but at the same time kept their name in pristine condition.

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