OCModShop posted a review on the NZXT Tempest Gaming Computer Case

"PC Gaming is a serious business. Maybe it's because PC gamers are constantly upgrading their hardware and are usually on the cutting edge (if not bleeding edge) of the latest PC technology. PC gamers not only require their hardware to be fast, but look cool at the same time. There is a degree of one-upmanship amongst PC gamers, and the green-eyed monster usually sparks an interest at LAN parties. I know when I go to a LAN party I find lots of new hardware I just have to have in order to feel like the technology guru I know I am.

Unfortunately, the hardware specifically targeted towards gamers is also very expensive. An elite PC Gaming Case (chassis or enclosure) has many more features than your standard office PC. For one, many include built-in support for watercooling, and others provide easy access to USB and audio ports.... and of course should have a window to show off all of your LEDs, VFDs, CCFDs, and all the other acronymns you have inside."

>> NZXT Tempest Computer Case Review

InfoWorld reports that Microsoft has promoted Bob Muglia, the head of the company's server and tools division, to president, making him one of a handful of senior executives who carry this title.

"The promotion makes Muglia, who joined Microsoft in 1988, the fourth president at the company. The other presidents are Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division; Jean-Phillipe Courtois, president of Microsoft International; and Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division."

>> Microsoft promotes Muglia to president

DivX for Windows 7.0.0 has been released

"DivX(R) 7 for Windows is a free download that provides everything you need to enjoy high-quality digital videos on your computer, including HD H.264 (.mkv) videos with AAC audio and videos created using all previous versions of DivX technology. You can also play your DivX files (.divx, .avi) on millions of DivX Certified(R) devices today. Look for DivX Plus™ HD Certified devices later this year that will support playback of all DivX and DivX Plus files, as well as .mkv (H.264/AAC) videos from the Internet."

>> DivX for Windows 7.0.0

Pfrank 2.28 has been released

"PFrank is an acronym for Peter's Flexible RenamiNg Kit. This is a Freeware bulk file renaming program that runs under Windows. With this tool you can easily organize your music files, picture files, or any other types of files. PFrank comes equipped with many features, some of which you won't find on any other renaming program. The beauty of this tool is it's flexibility. You can easily build any renaming command sequence you like, preview all of the results, press the rename button, and you're done."

>> Pfrank 2.28

Clunk posted a review on the Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME Core i7 Motherboard

"We have Gigabyte's GA-EX58-EXTREME Core i7 motherboard to put through its paces today. Gigabyte have kindly sent us a pre production sample (Rev 1.0), which we are told is identical to the mass production units apart from the colours of the various slots and sockets.

As the board isn't a full retail kit, there are no accessories or extras to look at, it's just a bare board, extreme cooling system and an SLI/Crossfire bridge.

Over the last few months we have seen a variety of propaganda from the big board manufacturers with each of them listing the other's shortcomings. Competition appears to have driven up the various board specs, but at the same time, prices have rocketed, with some retailers selling certain boards for up to £340 and Core i7 CPUs starting at around £270 - Factor in a triple channel kit and you are looking at not much change from a grand, so is the upgrade worth the money? How do Core i7 and X58 perform? Read on to find out..."

>> Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME Core i7 Motherboard On Test

TestFreaks has posted a review on the ATP ProMax II 4gb SD/SDHC Card

"Today for review I've got the ATP ProMax II 4gb SD/SDHC memory Card, it's one of the fastest on the market today with a class rating of 6, with a claim of 22.8MB/s transfer rate. Is it that fast? Well that's what we aim to find out."

>> ATP ProMax II 4gb SD/SDHC Card Reviewed

Gamingheaven posted a review on GTR Revolution for the PC

"We have looked at other GTR games before in the past and conclusions state that Simbin are one of the greatest developers of racing games on the PC platform. Combined with the RACE series they have proven to be class leading titles and today we are taking a look at the latest expansion to RACE 08, GTR Evolution."

>> GTR Revolution (PC) Review

Bigbruin.com posted a review on the ThermoLab Baram CPU Cooler

"The Baram CPU cooler made a strong first impression for ThermoLab and what they are capable of... I hope to see more products from them in the future. The cooler performed quite well during testing, and for those interested in running their system in near silence, the Baram will cooperate with temperatures that may be better than on some more popular (and louder) coolers."

>> ThermoLab Baram CPU Cooler Review

Overclockers Online has posted a new review on the Sapphire Toxic HD4870 1GB DDR5 video card

"Sapphire continues to be innovative and brings new cards to the open market for consumers to pick. Expanding the Toxic family is the 4870 1GB DDR5 card, utilizing 3 heatpipes as part of the advanced Vapor-X cooler. The card from factory overclocked to 780/1000, 30 Mhz faster for the core and 100 Mhz faster on the memory. With recent price drop announcement on the 4870 family by ATi, this card becomes very attractive."

>> Sapphire Toxic HD4870 1GB DDR5 Review

bit-tech published a review of the Hiper Type R II 680W PSU

"We love the fact Hiper has tried to do something different - an actually useful box, a different cable routing style, a unique look, a USB hub with some ports and a different airflow dynamic: all of which deserve credit, even if we don't agree with every decision made.

This would probably suit many systems our readers build: something like an overclocked dual or even quad core, single graphics card and a couple of hard drives, then this PSU should fit perfectly - you'll easily be hitting 50 percent load matching its peak efficiency and very quiet running. We have seen "more" in terms of other 600-700W models - in full load efficiency and with more PCI-Express cables (and modular options), but the Hiper Type R II 680W is still a pretty damn solid buy.

You've got to love the bling to buy it though and that will undoubtedly turn some of you off. It's a shame Hiper insists on the LEDs in the black model too, because a choice or even just the option to turn them off would have been nice! In our opinion, forget the blue one - it's way to expensive for essentially just a paint job - and grab the black one instead if you're tempted by it."

>> Hiper Type R II 680W PSU Review

bit-tech published a look at AMD's new Athlon Neo Ultra-thin Platform

"You may have assumed to gather my opinion of this from the cynicism
I've erupted all over the pages of this article, but I do still want one. After all, I completely agree with AMD's targeting and positioning of this product - I simply debate the execution. AMD needs to get the breadth of industry support, because HP alone can't cut it (even if it is the largest OEM).

AMD has to work hard to get partners to deliver cheap Yukon-based products to market faster than April, because that is far too late for this product. By that time, we are edging into Q2 and shouldn't we already be expecting the Congo dual core/780G part at that time? Why would we buy the HP? We just can't see a reason when there is a better featured version just around the corner.

AMD does basic low power very well indeed, so in theory this platform should be close to a walk in the park. What's more, it has all the hardware it needs to make a kick ass alternative to the Atom powered netbooks dominating the market at the moment, but Yukon based products need to be here sooner than April. If that doesn't happen, we believe AMD will be left behind with a great idea and no market because it has moved on by the time product arrives."

>> AMD Athlon Neo: The New Ultra-thin Platform

TweakTown posted a review on the Kingston Triple Channel 1333MHz 6GB Memory Kit

"Intel not only knows how to push its own technologies, but also how to push the market forward; this with the exception of the RDRAM debacle, but let’s not dwell on that now. For the last five years Intel has not only managed to get its feet back on the ground with the Core micro architecture, but they’ve also managed to steer the course of memory technology as they’d originally hoped.

Many companies have already jumped in with triple channel kits for Core i7 and so far we have reviewed about five different kits. Today we are adding another to the list of oncoming tri-channel kits. Kingston, a long time partner in memory has shot us their latest memory kit comprising of three DDR3 1333MHz memory modules with 2GB density per module; a total of 6GB. We will today pit it against our Corsair 6GB benchmark modules to see just how well Kingston’s memory fairs."

>> Kingston Triple Channel 1333MHz 6GB Memory Kit Review

t-break posted a review on the ECS P45T-AD3 motherboard

"Even with Intel's new processors hitting shelves, the Core 2 lineup is far from dead. The best all round chipset for the Core 2 is the Intel P45 and today we have the latest P45 based offering from ECS in our hands."

>> ECS P45T-AD3 Review

FrostyTech posted Cooler Master Hyper Z600 Black Label Heatsink Review

"As far as tower heatsinks go, the 1161 gram Cooler Master Hyper Z600 Black Label heatsink is a heavy beast, but it's also one of the few CPU coolers that can be used passively on certain processors. The cross shape and widely spaced aluminum fins, prodigious number copper heatpipes and 160mm height give it the technical features necessary for effective convective cooling, albeit within specific thermal limits."

>> Cooler Master Hyper Z600 Black Label Heatsink Review

Elite Bastards posted Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 1GB video card review

"As per Sapphire's 512MB TOXIC variant, Sapphire have chosen to up both core and memory clocks to the same degree on the Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 1GB. The board's RV770 core gets a very modest rise of just 30MHz to leave us with a core clock speed of 780MHz, while the board's GDDR5 memory gets more attention lavished upon it, increasing the clock speed from 900MHz to 1GHz, giving us an effective speed of 4GHz considering the properties of GDDR5 memory.

Once again, this Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC offering rolls out Sapphire's dual-slot, vapour chamber cooling technology, coupled with three heat pipes to handle the heat from the board's RV770 core and memory, while hot air is exhausted from the rear of the card to keep it out of your chassis."

>> Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 TOXIC 1GB video card review

Bjorn3D takes a look at the Cooler Master Stacker 832 SE

"Cooler Master has been known for filling the market with top notch enclosures, power supplies and general PC accessories. There isn’t really a trend when it comes down to desktop department. However, it’s safe to say geeks favor a clean type design with a lot of functionality rather than flashy and scary looking “things” up on their desks. If you are into Japanese cars, it’s called JDM style (Japanese Domestic Market). Although used in conjunction with automotive industry, this term describes functionality and unique style (the two have to go together). The original Stacker case became a widely popular full tower chassis amongst PC enthusiasts and custom system builders. The last couple of years brought quite a few changes to the external and internal design as well as overall functionality.

Today, I’m checking out a well-designed, functional and very appealing case from Cooler Master, the Stacker 832 Special Edition. Built with efficiency and compatibility in mind the new Stacker shines with cool and useful features."

>> Cooler Master Stacker 832 SE Review

TechAddicts posted a review on the Enermax Modu82+ 625 Watt Modular Power Supply

"It has been a while since we have reviewed a Enermax power supply. Our previous reviews of Enermax's power supplies have left us quite satisfied with their performance and build quality. Today, we are going to take a look at the 'Modu 82+' series of power supplies. The Modu 82+ series comes in three different wattages, the 425 watt, 525 watt, and 625 watt units (seemingly in one hundred watt increments). Enermax gave us the 625 watt version to look at. This power supply is SLi Ready, Energy Star 4.0 compliant and 80Plus certified."

>> Enermax Modu82+ 625 Watt Modular Power Supply Review

Virtual-Hideout posted a review on the XClio 1000 Enclosure

"The XClio 1000 Enclosure produces the largest light show of sorts I've ever seen on a prebuilt case. You have four choices in colors for each set of fans. There's red, green, blue, and chameleon where the fans change through various shades of purple, white, yellow, or what not. It practically out does my controllable lights on the Christmas tree. (No, you can't put this case on top of the Christmas tree...or can you?)"

>> XClio 1000 Enclosure Review

Tweaknews.net posted a review on the Razer Moray Noise Isolating Earbud Headphones

"The Moray didn't convince me to toss aside my set of over-the-ear headphones, but for laptop gamers or anyone who uses a portable music device this is a great step up in quality from the included ear buds. The best part is they carry a reasonable price tag."

>> Razer Moray Noise Isolating Earbud Headphones Review

OCC has published a new review of the Raidmax Wind Storm

"The CPU temperatures are both disappointing; with idle being five degrees away from the second highest results. GPU temperatures redeem this case, idle falling into the mean, and load pulling ahead to first place. Hard drive and chipset temperatures both pull farther ahead than the competition. Perhaps the fan placement didn't favor the low profile Intel heat sink. The Wind Storm faired pretty well to the competition."

>> Raidmax Wind Storm Review

PureOverclock posted a review of the AeroCool Horsepower 650w power supply

"The AeroCool Horsepower 650w power supply is marketed for enthusiasts (particularly gamers), has a price tag to match several name-brand competitors, and sports some nice features including colour-coded modular cabling and LED lighting. Certainly looks promising, so let's get down to business and juice up this unit."

>> AeroCool Horsepower 650w Review

Maximum CPU has posted its review of BlueAnt's V1 Voice Control Bluetooth headset

"BlueAnt's newest headset, the V1, is a pretty unique Bluetooth headset. The feature set is almost exactly the same as BlueAnt's z9i Bluetooth headset with one major difference. The V1 is the only Bluetooth headsetI could find that allows the headset to almost completely be controlled by voice commands."

>> BlueAnt V1 Voice Control Bluetooth Headset Review

TweakTown posted a review on the Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm CPU Cooler

"This is the first cooler from Vigor that I have tested, but they have had a couple of other CPU coolers on the market, both of which were TEC air coolers. Vigor also has a nice lineup of cases as well as complete systems. This time instead of the plain looking coolers mounted to their TEC’s, Vigor has taken a different approach. They opted out of the TEC part and have gone with a stand-alone air cooler.

What we have with us today is the Vigor Monsoon III LT, Vigor’s first CPU cooler without a TEC to share the Monsoon name. Previously Vigor’s lineup was the Monsoon II and the Monsoon II Lite, both using a TEC plate to aid in how they cooled. The Monsoon III LT is an eye catching design and the obvious use of dual fans is a plus to getting more airflow. First impressions of this cooler are that it looks nice in all-black attire and it seems up to the task of keeping the newer over clocked CPU’s within healthy operating temperatures."

>> Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm CPU Cooler Review

Bigbruin.com has posted a review on the Zalman CNPS9900 LED CPU Cooler

"The CNPS9900 LED CPU cooler features the familiar look of a Zalman product, with a variety of innovations and refinements that make it stand out over models from previous generations in the CNPS (Computer Noise Prevention System) product line. A 120mm fan is located in between two rings of thin copper fins that dissipate the processor's heat thanks to three heatpipe loops."

>> Zalman CNPS9900 LED CPU Cooler Review

OCModShop posted a review on the Coolink GFXChilla VGA Heatsink

"I'm always looking for the right balance between proper cooling and noise output. Remember the old cases and cpu coolers you used to get that where so loud it was plain stupid, luckily things have gone a long way and we have abandoned 40/60mm screamer fans (remember the old Deltas? ) but today still I have to say the loudest component in my PC is my video card."

>> Coolink GFXChilla VGA Heatsink Review

TheTechLounge posted a review on the Griffin Reflect Case for iPhone 3G

"Apple's iPhone 3G is on the march, and with a huge first quarter, ton of accessories have hit the market, including many cases and other accessories from Griffin. This week we take a look at the high-style Griffin Reflect Case for the iPhone 3G. This case has a lot to offer those interested in protecting the iPhone in a case, but maintaining the stylish appearance of the device."

>> Griffin Reflect Case for iPhone 3G Reviewed

ITreviewed posted a review on Call Of Duty: World At War

"Developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, Call of Duty: World at War utilises the amazing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine, but that's where the similarities end. Call of Duty: World at War takes you deep into the South Pacific and Europe to witness firsthand the climactic battles of WWII that led to the demise of the Axis powers. The game throws out the rulebook of war to transform WWII combat through a new enemy, new tactics and an uncensored experience of the climatic battles that gripped a generation. As U.S. Marines and Russian soldiers, you will employ new features like cooperative gameplay, and weapons such as the flamethrower in the most chaotic and cinematically intense experience to date. Seriously, a first-person shooter has never been so frenetic, with Kamikaze fighters, ambush attacks and Banzai charges all attempting to take you out."

>> Call Of Duty: World At War Review

XSReviews posted a new article series about budget gaming

"With fears of a recession spreading like a virus throughout the world, and people clamping their wallets tightly shut after Christmas, perhaps it's time we all stopped playing games and got on with some work to earn back our hard spent dollars and pounds. But who are we kidding, recession or not, we're still going to spend a large proportion of our time doing what we enjoy most, playing video games; but how to do it with so little money around? Ladies and Gentleman, I welcome you to XSReviews multi part budget gaming article, that I hope will help you stretch those pounds to the maximum amount of enjoyable playing hours."

>> Budget Gaming Part 1: The Basics

Hardware Secrets is questioning: What Software Bundles Should Come With a Laptop?

"This is an excellent question that notebook manufacturers are apparently not asking consumers. I don’t know about you, but whenever I buy a new portable the first thing I have to do is to uninstall all the crappy programs that come with it (90% of the programs) and then install the ones I really need"

>> What Software Bundles Should Come With a Laptop?

HotHardware.com posted a review on the MSI Wind U100 Netbook

"Since the MSI Wind's initial release seven months ago, the middle of the netbook market, roughly defined here as the $350-$500 range, has become very crowded. It seems like everyone and their subsidiary is getting into the netbook game and there are now dozens of models and submodels vying for your money, with even more product launches right around the corner. In this suddenly crowded niche market, is the MSI Wind still a good choice, or has it fallen behind the competition?

Don't get us wrong. We're not saying that MSI has been standing still this whole time. On the contrary, the folks at MSI have been cooking up a number of new netbook products, as we'll certainly see at CES this week. MSI has also released a cheaper 8.9" version of the Wind, the U90, which is currently available in parts of Europe, Australia and Canada. However, at least for the time being, the original MSI Wind, now dubbed the Wind U100, is still the only MSI netbook officially sold in the US.

Today we're going to pit it head-to-head with a couple of its younger competitors to see if can keep up with the mass of new competition."

>> MSI Wind U100 Netbook - Tested and Burned In

ASE Labs has posted a review on the Western Digital MyBook Studio 2

"Western Digital makes some excellent products and relatively recently, it pushed very hard into the external storage market. When I asked about if they are worried about the impending SSD emerging market, there was really no big worry, yet. Even so, hard drives are their bread and butter and solutions exists for nearly every segment of the market. I always say how important it is to have a backup solution and the My Book Studio Edition II aims to fit that bill with ease."

>> Western Digital MyBook Studio 2 Review

Bit-Tech published their updated Hardware Buyers Guide for January 2009

"Happy New Year! Yes it's 2009, and while we might bemoan the continued lack of flying cars or private robot slaves we were promised in our youth, the march of technology does continue onwards with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas ready to kick off later this week showcasing all the fancy kit we'll likely be drooling over this year.

We've already had a sneaky peek at one of the show's likely unveilings - the Nvidia GeForce GTX 295 - so stay tuned to bit-tech over the coming days for continued updates from our man in Las Vegas.

Sadly though, the growing world wide economic downturn is continuing to have negative effects on component pricing here in the UK as the pound continues to slide against both the Dollar and Euro. While component prices in the USA and Europe are for the most part going down to encourage sales, prices here in Blighty have been rising over the last few months as importers find the pound doesn't stretch so far any more.

This can be enormously frustrating, as those who might have put off building a new system until the new year will now be faced with a notably increased price tag for the exact same components, while the exact same system has in fact become cheaper in the USA!"

>> bit-tech's Hardware Buyers Guide for January 2009

Legit Reviews posted a review on the Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 6GB Triple-Channel Memory Kit

"The Corsair Dominator 6GB PC3-12800 DDR3 triple channel memory kit has been specially designed to work with Intel's new Core i7 platform. With a 1600MHz clock frequency and latencies of 8-8-8-24 at 1.65V VDIMM, the TR3X6G1600C8D memory kit is one that will impress your friends and strike fear into those gaming against you. If you are building an Intel X58 Express based system this is a must read."

>> Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 6GB Triple-Channel Memory Kit Review

JonnyGURU.com has posted a review on the Xigmatek NRP-PC501 500W Power Supply

"Xigmatek is an unfamiliar name for power supplies in these parts. However, the company does have some degree of presence out there in the world of CPU cooling; and we've gotten more than a few requests to see how good their watt boxes are. Today I'm finally taking a look at one of them in the NRP-PC501. This is a 500W value oriented unit boasting a good sized 140mm fan and 80 Plus certification."

>> [url=gttp://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=128]Xigmatek NRP-PC501 500W Power Supply Review[/url]

TechSpot posted a review on the Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58 motherboard

"Those wishing to build the most powerful, most extreme computer on the planet surely will be weighing up the costs of a new Intel Core i7 processor. Even with the imminent launch of the AMD Phenom II X4, we have reasons to believe the Core i7 will remain as the heavyweight champion.

The Gigabyte EX58-UD4P is meant to offer value for Core i7 users, retaining some of the X58 chipset's most interesting features like 3-way SLI and CrossfireX support, which should come extra handy for gamers willing to burn cash for the ultimate performance."

>> Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58 motherboard Review

TestFreaks.com has reviewed Pinnacle Video Transfer

"Pinnacle has sent me over their Video Transfer product for review, it allows the user to simply and easily transfer videos from numerous sources and store them on a portable hard drive, flash drive, iPod or even a PSP. It encodes in MPEG-4 format so the end results will be playable on most devices, and you can even select from three different quality settings as well. The great thing about this device is that it does not use your PC, it's a stand alone unit, you plug your source video into on end, your storage device into the other, hit record and walk away, no fuss, very simple and easy to do."

>> Pinnacle Video Transfer Review

Bjorn3D takes a look at the Koolance VID-487 GPU Water Block

"When the “Big Boss Man” said that we were getting another Koolance full coverage video card block in for review and it was for an ATi HD 4870, I jumped at the chance. Koolance has been around from the beginning and they are well known for their high quality products. As a matter of fact, my first ever video card water block was from Koolance many years ago. One of the main reasons I stopped using them back then is that they were primarily small tube low flow systems and I had moved on to massive big tube custom built high flow systems. But here in the past year or so, Koolance has developed products that work well with both types of water cooling loops. So I’m really looking forward to seeing just how well their block will stand up to one of the industries' favorites, the Swiftech MCW60, as well as Sapphire's own high-end air cooler, the Vapor-X."

>> Koolance VID-487 GPU Water Block Review

Miranda IM 0.8.0 Build 26 has been released

"Miranda IM is a multi protocol instant messenger client. Miranda IM is designed to be resource efficient and easy to use. It uses very little memory, requires no installation and can easily be carried around on a single floppy disc.

The powerful plugin system makes Miranda IM extremely flexible. Only the most basic features are built in, but there are currently more than 130 plugins available for download that allows users to extend the functionality in Miranda IM. Plugins can be installed to add support for ICQ, MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, Tlen, netsend and other protocols."

>> Miranda IM 0.8.0 Build 26

Seagate SeaTools for Windows 2.13b has been released

"SeaTools Diagnostic Suite is Seagate's exclusive disc drive diagnostic software designed to troubleshoot most Seagate hard drive issues.

Desktop edition works with most ATA, SATA, or SCSI drives in desktop systems and has a 98% accuracy rate.

Features: Text and graphics are easy to read and follow. "

>> Seagate SeaTools for Windows 2.13b

FileZilla 3.2 RC 2 has been released

"FileZilla Client is a fast and reliable cross-platform FTP, FTPS and SFTP client with lots of useful features and an intuitive graphical user interface.

The features of FileZilla include the following:

Easy to use
Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
Cross-platform. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD, Mac OS X and more
IPv6 support
Available in many languages
Supports resume and transfer of large files gt;4GB
Powerful Site Manager and transfer queue
Drag amp; drop support
Configurable Speed limits
Filename filters
Network configuration wizard
Remote file editing
Keep-alive
HTTP/1.1, SOCKS5 and FTP-Proxy support "

>> FileZilla 3.2 RC 2

Driverheaven had the opportunity to review another product from NorthQ. This time they had a look at the Siberian Tiger, a compact water cooling solution designed to narrow the chasm between air coolers and more complex DIY water cooling solutions.

"NorthQ have already released a second version of the cooler, dubbed the Siberian Tiger II. The Siberian Tiger II is not much different than the first version as the only basic differentiation is the use of a dual radiator for increased performance."

>> NorthQ Siberian Tiger II Water Cooler Review

The Guru of 3D posted a review on the HIS Radeon 4870 ICEQ4+ TURBO 1024MB

"If there was one graphics card spectacular in 2008, it was the Radeon HD 4870 series. Yet this year a good number of games were released that actually make good use of a frame buffer larger than 512 MB.

Specifically at higher resolutions with a decent amount of Anti-aliasing and in DX10 games. Suffice to say we'll look at a 1 GB graphics card today. It's based on the Radeon HD 4870 and comes from HIS technology. The all new ICEQ4+ cooling based model. A spectacular looking graphics card .. "

>> HIS Radeon 4870 ICEQ4+ TURBO 1024MB Review

XtremeComputing published a review on the SilverStone Raven (RVM01B) Gaming Mouse

"For this review I will be looking at a new product from one of my favourite computer hardware manufacturers, the highly respected SilverStone. The actual product I am looking at is a little bit unusual for SilverStone as the product I will be looking at is a gaming mouse, the Raven RVM01B."

>> SilverStone Raven (RVM01B) Mouse Review

bit-tech published a review of Viewsonic's VX2260WM, 22-inch Full HD monitor

"In truth, it's the sort of visual faux pas you usually have to try very hard to spot, but just occasionally it can throw up distracting artefacts along the edges of moving objects, particularly in games. Still the good news with the VX2260WM is that you have the option of turning Ultra Fast mode off if it is giving you gyp. The Advanced mode is still extremely rapid and suffers from no visual artefacts.

So, Viewsonic's first foray into the 1080p 22-inch segment is pretty solid. It's certainly one of the better TN panels we have seen, it just pips Iiyama's slightly cheaper model for image quality and physical desirability and adds a few useful features, including HDMI, to boot. More importantly, that 1080p native resolution looks fantastic on a 22-inch panel, delivering eye-popping detail along with generous desktop real estate. Is it worth the extra £20 over the Iiyama? In a word, yes."

>> Viewsonic VX2260WM 22-inch Full HD monitor Review

Bit-Tech published a first look at Seasonic's M12D 850W power supply

"We'll obviously hold off with our final yay or nay until we can stress test the bits off it to test how it copes with load, efficiency, PFC and noise levels in comparison to other PSUs. We did test it for a short while with a Core i7 system and two GeForce GTX 280 in SLI, the unit remained cool and very quiet, however even that high end PC won't seriously stretch an 850W PSU.

From the outside, it looks like Seasonic has done everything right - a variety of modular cable lengths with good connector choices and lower resistance, thicker cabling where it matters, a fantastic fan and 80Plus Silver certification. If we nit-pick, then the braiding isn't perfect and we'd like to have seen a second 4+4-pin EPS12V instead of just a 4-pin, but other than that we're finding it hard to give fault. I suppose it's a little unspectacular on the surface, but then it's no different from an Antec Signature or OCZ EliteXStream - it's what is inside that counts anyway.

We've no UK price yet, but apparently it's meant to retail nearer $300 which is a hefty sum to part with for even the most hardened Seasonic fanboy. That's not to say other premium PSUs like the Cooler Master Ultimate UCP 900W and Antec Signature 850W are that much less expensive - although whether you get appreciably $20-30 more for the Seasonic than the Antec for example, is difficult to ascertain and down to personal opinion."

>> First Look: Seasonic's M12D 850W power supply

OCC has published a new review on the Cavalry Pelican 2.5 in 32GB Solid State Drive

"As a portable storage drive the Cavalry Pelican performs at a level much lower than it does when used with the SATA II interface. The access time is on par with that displayed by the Intel SSD. In HDTune the Cavalry performs slightly better in the average read test than the standard hard disk drives, but falls incredibly short when compared to the Intel device. The Sandra testing shows the Pelican to perform better than the standard hard disk drives in three out of four tests."

>> Cavalry Pelican 2.5 in 32GB Solid State Drive Review

OCModShop posted a review on the Nova Killer 2 Mousepad

"I sometimes sit at my desk and think to myself, "I have way too much space here". But what can I do about it? I guess I could stick a Tiki doll there for a little good luck. Set up a shrine to Carmen Electra? And then it came to me. A mousepad. But not just any mousepad, a gigantic mousepad that would ensure I would never have extra room on my desk again. And that mousepad is non other than the Nova Killer 2. It's big, bad, made for lasers, and can be doubled as a car port in case of bad weather."

>> Nova Killer 2 Mousepad Review

TweakTown posted a review on the MSI Radeon HD 4830 512MB OC Edition Graphics Card

"I have to admit that until the HD 4830 arrived on my door step I really hadn’t heard of it; a bit like what happened to NVIDIA a while back when everyone was more interested in seeing what ATI was doing with the new HD 4800 series. Now the tables have turned and everyone is paying more attention to the new NVIDIA cards due out rather than what ATI is doing at the moment.

The HD 4830 is the latest card to enter the HD 4800 series line-up and is the lowest of the bunch. The thing is, though, I really do wonder how much lower it is than the HD 4850, which is one of the best valued cards on the market to date."

>> MSI Radeon HD 4830 512MB OC Edition Graphics Card Review

InsideHW.com has reviewed Lenovo ThinkPad SL300

"Although, undauntedly, all ThinkPad notebooks are quality products, sale rate is not something that Lenovo can be satisfied with, when it comes to ThinkPad notebooks. High price tag is, obviously, insurmountable obstacle for many buyers, so in Lenovo decided to offer models that will have basic and recognizable features of all ThinkPad notebooks with few compromises and significantly lower price. As result new ThinkPad SL series is created with models: SL300 (13.3inch), SL400 (14.1inch) and SL500 (15.4inch). We have got smallest model in our test lab: Lenovo ThinkPad SL300."

>> Lenovo ThinkPad SL300 Review

OCIA.net has posted their review of the WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Leadtek Limited Video Card

"While the GTX 260/280 cards have taken over nVidia's top slots for video card gaming hardware, their 9 series continues to flush out the bulk of their product lineup, and the 9800 GTX+ reigns as top dog among the 9 series family. The WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Leadtek Limited appears to have identical specs to their standard PX9800 GTX+ with the only difference being that of a slightly different cooler face and bundled game selection. Otherwise both match the nVidia reference specification in clock speeds and chip design."

>> WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Leadtek Limited Video Card Review

Mad Shrimps posted a review on the DFI LanParty DK 790GX-M2RS Motherboard

"DFI has taken the latest AMD 790GX chipset and loaded it on a flashy motherboard fitted with custom cooling and fully fleshed out BIOS which allows you to tweak almost every aspect of the AM2+ platform. Let us find out if the engineers at DFI were able to extract more performance from the 790GX chipset compared to the competition."

>> DFI LanParty DK 790GX-M2RS Motherboard Review

Phoronix posted a review on the Samung NC10 Netbook

"It seems that each and every week there are new netbooks that are introduced, but there are not many differences between most models. Some netbooks will have a slightly longer battery life, a different exterior, or a solid-state drive, but there are more similarities than differences. However, one of the latest companies to join the netbook bandwagon here in the United States has been Samsung with the introduction of the NC10. Is there anything special about this 10.2-inch Atom-powered netbook? We will tell you in this Linux review of the Samsung NC10."

>> Samung NC10 Netbook Review

Techgage.com posted a new editorial where they take a look at netbooks from a personal perspective.

"Alright, so I'm a little behind on the times. Netbooks have been around for a while, but it wasn't until recently that I've been able to spend a little more than a few minutes with one. With CES right around the corner, I decided to finally get one in and spend a week using it exclusively at the event. Read on for my initial thoughts."

>> My First Netbook Experience