Tech News
-
Kingston SSDNow V Series 40GB @ Techgage
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 | By: DennisYou know the first hard drive I ever bought was 540megs, Yes I said megs as in megabytes. However back then storage didn't come cheap and anything below a gig was reasonably priced.
Fast forward to now and anything without a triple digit gigabyte rating is often ignored. So why bother with a 40GB SSD??
Want to make the upgrade to a solid-state drive, but prefer to avoid the high cost of adoption? Kingston helps ease that pain with its SSDNow V Series 40GB, a modest drive that features Intel's NAND and impressive G2 firmware, which helps it deliver stellar performance when compared to an HDD, for an easy-to-stomach price.
I guess that would be a pretty good reason.
-
G.Skill Falcon II 128GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 | By: DennisSolid State Hard Drives are one of the fastest storage mediums but are still plagued with higher than expected costs over their rotational counterparts and come with considerably less storage space.
But they are well worth the price, especially if you have a readily available network storage option.As the SSD marketplace expands at a near-breakneck pace, OEMs and manufacturers alike are moving quickly to cover as many price points as possible. One of the most popular portions of this market doesn't lie with the high-performance, stratospherically-priced drives but rather with drives that offer the perfect mix of value and performance. G.Skill's new Falcon II 128GB is one of the SSDs which is leading the push towards affordable, large capacity SSDs.
So here is a question, what is faster than a single SSD? Two of them in a RAID of course.
-
NL: Review Block - Motherboards
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 | By: DennisIt has been awhile since we have posted a review block so here it goes, and this time it is all about motherboards.
- MSI P55-GD80 Motherboard for LGA1156 CPUs reviewed in Metku
- Gigabyte GA-790FXTA-UD5 Motherboard Review @ Motherboards
- Gigabyte-GA-X58A-UD7 @ Hardwareoverclock
- Jetway NC63-330-LF IPC Motherboard @ PCShopTalkNormally we see some more reviews that this but with more companies exiting the motherboard arena and the remainder of them being rather protective of their review samples the trend can only get worse.
-
Anatomy of SSD Units @ Hardware Secrets
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 | By: WillAn SSD is a very simple idea, but I'm sure many people still want to know what the guts of one is like. So here it is in a very simple two page read that will give you all that you need to know.
"SSD (Solid State Drive) units are storage devices that store files and programs just like hard disk drives, but use flash memory chips to store data, instead of storing data on a magnetic disk. Because data is stored electronically rather than magnetically, SSDs are way faster than hard disk drives for two reasons. First, no conversion between magnetic information into electronic information is needed. And second, there are no mechanical parts, so data is readily available, while on hard disk drives you need to wait until the heads move to the area where data is stored, which takes some time. In this short tutorial we will show you how SSD units look like inside and what are their main components."
Enjoy!
-
New Super Highend Air Coolers
Published: Sunday, January 24, 2010 | By: WillIt has been a little while since the kings of air cooling have given the enthusiastic anything new. So here is some of the newest kings of cooling to be.
Review of Prolimatech Mega Shadow cpu cooler @ Testseek
"Obviously these are spectacular results. At no moment we reached critical temperatures, not even at 4GHz. This is truly remarkable since the Intel Core i7 920 can be run at 80°C - 85°C without risking anything. Also, remember that I used software which loaded all four cores to 100% simultaneously. In reality this will almost never happen. Therefore these maximum temperatures are truly the extremes. The results point to the conclusion that the gains by using two fans are minor. I actually found the Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans to have a great balance between cooling performance and noise level at 1450RPM. As a little curiosity I also ran the CPU at 3.4GHz without HyperThreading enabled. The result was quite significant. With the HT activated the average temperature was 63°C, with HT deactivated the average temperature was 56°C, which is considerably lower"
Thermalright Unveils Venomous X Cooler @ Overclock3D
"So where have Thermalright been hiding? Since the release of the popular Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (or "TRUE") and the gigantic but not quite as popular IFX-14, the manufacturer have been as quiet as a mouse on the CPU Cooling front. It's fair to say that neither of the aformentioned coolers are any less capable than they were when they were first released but as other manufacturers release new products, regular product refreshes ensure that sales don't fall. With this in mind, cue the new Thermalright Venomous X Heatpipe Cooler."
-
Intel Core i5 661 3.33 GHz @ techPowerUp
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010 | By: WillTalk about a lot of punch in a little package the new Intel Core processor with intergrated graphics are all the rage. Lets take a look to see if it is all hype, or is it the greatest new technology for the budget minded overclocker.
"Intel's new Core i5 661 processor combines graphics controller, memory controller, PCI-Express interface and a Dual Core all inside one compact processor package. Utilizing Intel's latest 32 nm process there is quite some added potential for power saving and overclocking, but is the integrated chipset up to the task too?"
Pretty good stuff here.
-
OCZ Throttle 32Gb eSATA and USB Memory Stick Review @ Madshrimps
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010 | By: WillWith a claim of being the "fastest memory stick on earth" we have to read right. To be honest as much as all of us use these little flash drives anything faster is just awesome. So OCZ has given the masses faster speed, well until USB 3.0 comes around in full tilt speed.
"The fastest memory stick on the face of the earth? OCZ is definitely gunning for the title with their Throttle eSATA 32Gb unit, we measured read speeds up to 85.9Mb/s, almost three times as fast compared to your standard USB variation. More performance numbers and stress testing inside."
That is going on my wish list.
-
2333MHz Corsair® Dominator™ GTX confirmed as World’s Fastest Intel® XMP-certified memory
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010 | By: Will- Intel stamp of approval reinforces Corsair's status as the leading supplier of performance memory -
FREMONT, California, January 21, 2010 - Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced that the Dominator GTX1 ultra-high performance DDR3 memory module (CMGTX1) has passed Intel's XMP-Ready certification at the blistering speed of 2333MHz, surpassing Corsair's 2000MHz modules as the fastest XMP-certified memory in the world.
Corsair Dominator GTX modules are individually hand-screened and tested to ensure unmatched performance. They are designed specifically for enthusiasts and overclockers who want to achieve the highest performance possible, and to break benchmark world records.
Intel's engineers awarded the XMP-Ready certification to 2 x 2GB Corsair CMGTX1 modules running at the incredible frequency of 2333MHz using low timings of 9-11-9-27 at a voltage of just 1.65V. The test platform was a GigabyteTM GA-P55A-UD4P motherboard. The successful XMP certification is a testament to the performance capabilities as well as the stability of both the memory and the target platform.
"Building the fastest memory for extreme overclockers and enthusiasts requires considerable engineering expertise, combined with a unique understanding of the complexities of overclocking," said Kevin Conley, VP of Engineering at Corsair. "Intel is one of the most meticulous and sophisticated technology companies in the world, and so achieving XMP-Ready certification at the astonishing frequency of 2333MHz once again clearly demonstrates Corsair's performance leadership."
Corsair Dominator GTX1 modules are individually screened and tested on multiple high-performance Intel P55 chipset platforms. In addition to the XMP-Ready certification at a frequency of 2333MHz, they are guaranteed by Corsair to operate at up to 2400MHz at timings of 9-11-9-27 at 1.65V.
Corsair Dominator GTX modules are available exclusively from Corsair's Online Store. They utilize Corsair's patented DHX+ heatsink and are supplied with extra-tall cooling fins to maximize heat dissipation. They are sold as a single module, allowing enthusiasts to simply buy the number of modules they require. Corsair recommends using the GT Airflow fan with tall mounting brackets, also available from the Corsair Online Store (part number CMXAF2 GTL).
As Corsair Dominator GTX1 modules are screened by hand, in multiple passes, at Corsair's lab in Fremont, California, availability is extremely limited and is on a first come, first served basis only.
-
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5670 1GB Video Card Review @ ThinkComputers
Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 | By: WillWell have our review up of the Sapphire Radeon HD5670 too, but we want our readers to get more on this product then just our take on it. Still remember to read ours first before you go read the other guys stuff.
"A few months ago, ATI released their new 5000 series of gaming cards. On January 14, 2010, they released the first of the mainstream cards of that series, the Radeon HD 5670, sporting the 40nm process, with 400 streaming processors and a 775mHz clock. Sapphire has built three versions of the HD 5670, a 1GB model and two 512MB models. Today I will be looking at the top of the line HD 5670, which has a full gig of GDDR5 memory clocked at 1000mHz. Read on to check out the Sapphire Radeon HD 5670!"
We ninjas know when you are not reading our reviews first.
-
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Mid-Tower @ Techgage
Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 | By: WillWith the incredible style and the pricing of the Cooler Master 690 it was a sure thing for flying off the shelves. Now after looking at the CM 690 II in person, and understanding how much work Cooler Master took into engineering it for their exact customers taste. Well this case is going to rock everyones socks off.
"When Cooler Master released its 690 chassis over two years ago, we're doubtful that even it could have predicted just how well-received it was going to be. It did a lot right in terms of design and function, and with the 690 II, those two factors are pushed even further. The result? The best $100 chassis we've ever looked at, bar none."
Oh yeah! I liked it too.
