XFX GeForce 9800 GTX+ Black Edition 512MB video card review
Elite Bastards posted XFX GeForce 9800 GTX+ Black Edition 512MB video card review

While it isn't trying to live up to the standards set by their XXX range of boards, the GeForce 9800 GTX+ Black Edition does sport some modest factory overclocks against a reference board. Oddly, these clock speed changes actually sees the GPU core clock drop very slightly (down to 785MHz from 788MHz), but this is more than compensated for by an increase in the board's shader clock to 1900MHz (from 1836MHz on a reference part). Finally, the 512MB of GDDR3 memory on-board finds itself with a 50MHz speed bump, giving it a final memory clock of 1150MHz.

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX+ Black Edition 512MB video card review

Smooth Creations LANShark Gaming System Review
Legit Reviews posted Smooth Creations LANShark Gaming System Review

So what can we say about this beauty from Smooth Creations? For the intended audience it’s great. If you appreciate art or really want a departure from the norm for your next gaming PC, Smooth Creations' LANShark is one to keep on your short list. However the one thing I’ve left out until now is the price. At $2,537 this is not an inexpensive machine, but it really isn’t an incredible amount of money over the sum of its parts. When you consider the amount of work that’s been put in, the 1 year warranty on the parts, and the lifetime warranty on the paint (excludes scratching and chipping of course) it really isn’t a bad price if you’re in the market for a system you don’t put together yourself...

Smooth Creations LANShark Gaming System Review



Patriot & Super Talent DDR3-1800 Review
DriverHeaven posted a review on the Patriot & Super Talent DDR3-1800

Today we are taking a look at two high specification DDR3 kits from Patriot and Super Talent to find out if either should be considered for consumers moving to DDR3.

Patriot & Super Talent DDR3-1800 Review

Thermaltake VI-ON External USB Drive Enclosure Review
OCIA.net has posted their review of the Thermaltake VI-ON External USB Drive Enclosure

The Thermaltake VI-ON offers a couple different flavors, either a USB/eSATA interface or USB-only, and is available in a high gloss black or white. All versions support SATA drives up to 1TB in size, and feature a SMART active cooling system and embedded drive suspension to reduce vibration and noise. The one we have for review is the black, USB-only model.

Thermaltake VI-ON External USB Drive Enclosure Review

Intel Core i7 CPU and Platform Value
bit-tech published a feature titled Intel Core i7 CPU and Platform Value, which looks at the relative value of Intel's Core i7 processors and the cost of a complete platform upgrade.

Without overclocking we have to say that AMD provides the better value platform and generally better value CPUs compared to Intel's current Core 2 range. If you were just simply interested in squeezing every last penny out of your purchase, these are the platforms to go for. While the Intel Core 2 range performs better, the performance increase doesn't always necessarily warrant the jump in cost.

The E8400 overclocked is also very good, as is the AMD Phenom X4 9850 at 3GHz - both make great value purchases in a similar budget, although both have different performance strengths. The E8400 is great in games and is a single threaded monster, however the Phenom X4 provides a very cheap multi-threaded cruncher. However, unfortunately for AMD, if you want multi-threaded munching on the cheap we're back to the Q6600 with DDR2 again.

AMD should take away the positive result that while in a direct performance comparison it'll lose out to Intel's Core 2 range, most of Intel's current quad line-ups are clearly too expensive and provide a negative relative value for money.

Surprisingly enough, despite the high platform cost of triple-channel DDR3 and very expensive motherboards, the increase in performance offsets the Core i7 cost in such a way that they come out with very positive relative value overall and if you can afford one, the Core i7 920, even without overclocking, makes for nearly 40 percent better value than the competition.

While budgets and personal interests in specific price-to-performance values like gaming will dictate not everyone goes out and buys a Core i7 920 tomorrow, it's been interesting to see how relative prices that are often ignored in reviews can severely affect the outcome of getting good value for money. While the Core i7 965 may top many tables and the Phenom X4 9950 may languish at the bottom - when we take what you get for your money into account, the two sit within a two percent relative difference.

Essentially, we could say you're no better off for spending a lot of money on an expensive Core i7, but we've not taking into account an essential equation: time = money. This is an unquantifiable factor, but also one that drives Intel and AMD to make faster and faster CPUs - to get stuff done quicker. In the business world that costs them less because it's more efficient so they can be more productive, while in a home environment the value of time is harder to pin down - a rendering box left overnight costs nothing in time, however if it's the family PC and there's a queue to use it, having a system chugging with a task will only cause arguments. How many of our parents have threatened any amount of money just to shut their kids up?

We hope you can take away something from our numbers and unique approach here, and if you've got an idea to improve or expand on our formulas and conclusions, please drop us a note and instead of talking //bit-tech we'll talk //bit-math instead!

Intel Core i7 CPU and Platform Value


GlacialTech GP-AL 650A Powersupply Review
Rbmods takes a look at the GlacialTech GP-AL 650A Power supply

Today we are taking a look at a powersupply from Glacialtech. They have released a new interesting PSU that has a thermal controller which even stops the fan if possible to reduce noise. It comes at a nice 650W which is quite optimal today and it also seems to have most of the features that is needed for our current and coming hardware. Lets get this review going and compare it vs some other well performing PSUs on the market.

GlacialTech GP-AL 650A Powersupply Review

Super Micro SuperServer 8045C-3R Review
InsideHW.com has posted article about Super Micro SuperServer 8045C-3R

On September 5, 2007 Company Super Micro Computer, as leader in software optimization and production of top-quality servers, introduced their new "super server" concept. Platform that can support 4 Intel Xeon processors was introduced at the same time, but all this wouldn't be so interesting if those Xeon CPUs didn't have four cores. That way it was possible to create server with 16 CPU cores. Nevertheless Super Micro didn't stop there, and neither did Intel, so now it is possible to install six-core Xeon CPUs. That way server can have 4x6=24 cores!

Super Micro SuperServer 8045C-3R Review

Sapphire Radeon 4870 X2 Review
PureOverclock published a review on the Sapphire Radeon 4870 X2 graphics card

Today we're looking at the Sapphire 4870 X2. It has been out for a while now, but it still certainly appears to be a card worthy to sit atop the heap as king of the hill. Indeed, it features two GPUs on one card, and is gigantic, in more ways than one.

Sapphire Radeon 4870 X2 Review

OCZ Gladiator MAX CPU Cooler Review
Hardware Canucks has posted a review of the OCZ Gladiator MAX CPU Cooler.

No one can argue that this new cooler doesn't have very good cooling performance and lets face it: this is the name of the game. Without the ability to properly cool your CPU the Gladiator Max would be nothing more than a fancy paper weight. Unfortunately, its cooling is very good but it is not as good as the cheaper Vendetta 2's and quite honestly, why would you pay more for less?

OCZ Gladiator MAX CPU Cooler Review

ABS Tagan BZ1300 Modular Power Supply Review
TweakTown posted a review on the ABS Tagan BZ1300 Modular Power Supply

Today’s offering is the BZ1300, and as the name implies it offers a massive 1300 watts of power. It carries logos from both Tagan and ABS, their sister company, and features a modular design that is always nice to see. We have seen the BZ900 recently and it performed well, but this is the monster of the product line.

While past accomplishments show a tendency toward excellence, it won’t have any real bearing on our tests. Does this new big boy have enough power to handle the load? Let’s find out!

ABS Tagan BZ1300 Modular Power Supply Review

Microsoft Arc Mouse Review
I4U NEWS published a review of the Microsoft Arc Mouse.

Today we are going to look at the Microsoft Arc mouse. The coolest thing about the Arc is that it folds in the middle making for a compact mouse that can be used comfortably over long periods. If you are in the market for a small mouse for your notebook that feels more like a desktop mouse in the hand the Microsoft Arc may be perfect for you.

Microsoft Arc Mouse Review

Honeywell Altura MLX 42-inch 1080p 10-bit HDTV Review
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the Honeywell Altura MLX 42-inch 1080p 10-bit HDTV

Not all televisions are created equally, and yet most consumers are in the dark when it comes to knowing the difference. However, for those smart shoppers who keep in touch with technology, Honeywell offers a treat for home theater enthusiasts. The Altura MLX series delivers a 1080p resolution at the double-rate 120Hz display speed. The Honeywell MT-HWJCT42B2AB offers 42" of full high-definition LCD viewing with a 10-bit color gamut far superior to most all other LCD panels. Benchmark Reviews tests the performance and quality of this HDTV in this article.

Honeywell Altura MLX 42-inch 1080p 10-bit HDTV Review

Viewsonic's VLED221wm 22" widescreen LCD monitor Review
Bit-Tech published a review of Viewsonic's VLED221wm 22" widescreen
LCD monitor

We had high hopes for this monitor, but unfortunately few/if any were met. Most of all, in this particular implementation, the benefits of LED technology are rather tough to spot. For static image quality, a decent PVA or IPS panel with a CCFL backlight still gives clearly superior results to the VLED221wm's TN-plus-LED combination.

This leaves it in a pretty tricky position because, if we ignore its price for a moment, the Viewsonic VLED221wm is certainly one of the better 22-inch TN screens currently available. It's more vibrant and satisfying than the average dull and dingy budget competitor.

But is it worth twice as much as a conventional 22 incher? In the end, the answer has to be no. It has too many flaws, including relatively poor pixel response and the poorly implemented and non-switchable dynamic contrast technology, and there are too few benefits of the LED backlight, for that.

Nevertheless, we still think Viewsonic deserves kudos for giving it a go with affordable LED technology. That's a lot more than can be said for most monitor makers, who tend to be a pretty conservative and unadventurous bunch. Indeed, the VLED221wm is apparently selling well. Despite its flaws, it's probably just about innovative enough to deserve to do so.

Viewsonic's VLED221wm 22" widescreen LCD monitor Review

Sans Digital MobileNas MN4L+(B) Four Bay NAS Review
Tweaknews.net posted Sans Digital MobileNas MN4L+(B) Four Bay NAS Review

Overall, the MN4L+ is a pleasure to work with. It does exactly what it should do which is to provide a stable and effective way to store files. This model in particular would be a great introductory NAS for someone new to RAID or network storage since setup is easy and the feature set isn't overwhelmingly long.

Sans Digital MobileNas MN4L+(B) Four Bay NAS Review

Corsair HX1000W Review
OCC has published a new review of the Corsair HX1000W

The Corsair HX1000W is so far one of the best power supplies I have tested and the only area I could find fault with is power factor at 230VAC. The feature list for the HX1000W, at least the way I read it, claims a power factor of 0.99 at all times. When supplied from 230VAC the power factor is never better than 0.96. This is really only a minor failure and will have no impact on the way the power supply performs in the real world. What the vast majority of PC users want are clean, stable DC rails and the HX1000W provides both even at 1000W. The DC voltage load regulation and efficiency are excellent and AC ripple levels well within the ATX12V specification.

Corsair HX1000W Review

Palit 9800GTX+ Review
OCC has published a new review of the Palit 9800GTX+

Although I am pleased with the overall performance of the Palit 9800GTX+, I was slightly disappointed by its overclockability. Although, the Palit 9800GTX+ has decent clocks to begin with but I really expected more. Its core clock, memory clock and shader clock could only be increase by 84MHz, 72MHz and 162MHz, respectively. This marginal increase in clocks is a lot lower than another 9800GTX+ reviewed by OCC. The 9800GTX+ clocks in this review were adjusted using Rivatuner 2.11 and temperatures were monitored by GPU-Z 0.2.8. To reach my final overclock, I bumped up the GPU and memory in 25MHz increments and tested stability using 3DMark06. The GPU core clock and shader clock were linked until I hit instability above 1998MHz on the shader. I then unlinked the two and was able to get the GPU up to 824MHz. The stock cooling solution did a fantastic job of controlling temperatures at clock settings. I never saw the GPU core rise above the upper 60s at load, which is 20-30 degrees cooler than the 9800GTX+'s direct competition, the 4850.

Palit 9800GTX+ Review