Hardware Reviews

Motherboards
ASUS M4A89GTD USB 3.0 mobo put to the test @ Guru3D
ASUS Maximus III Formula motherboard review @ Elite Bastards
Gigabyte H55M-USB3 - The Ultimate $100 H55 Board? @ Techgage
ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 890GX @ PureOverclock

Cooling
Cooler Master V8 Heatpipe CPU Cooler Review @ Bigbruin
Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler Review @ BayReviews
Gelid Solutions Tranquillo @ LanOC Reviews
Thermaltake ISGC-300 CPU Cooler Review @ Tweaknews

Input Devices and Pads
Steelseries 7G Gaming Keyboard, the Rolls Royce ? @ Cowcotland
Steel Series Siberia v2 @ LanOC Reviews
Steelseries Xai Review @ XSReviews
ASUS U3S6 USB 3.0/SATA 3 6Gbps PCIE Card @ TestFreaks

Power Supplies
Nexus RX-6300 Power Supply @ PureOverclock

Storage and Enclosures
Kingston SSDNow V-Series 30GB Solid State Boot Drive Review @ ThinkComputers
WD SiliconEdge-Blue Solid State Drive @ Benchmark Reviews
Ineo Technologies I-NA205Ue @ UMLan
Kingston SSDNow V Series 30GB Boot Drive @ TestFreaks
Kingston 30GB SSDNow V Series Boot Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
Kingston SSDNow V Series 30GB Boot Drive Review @ HardwareLogic
Patriot Torqx 128 Go, a good indilinx SSD @ Cowcotland

Cases
Thermaltake Element V Chassis Review @ Hardware Bistro
Raidmax Skyline Case Review @ OCIA
In Win Fanqua Mid Tower Chassis Review @ ThinkComputers
Coolermaster USP100 Case Review @ High Tech Reviews
NZXT LEXA S Crafted Series PC Case Review @ DragonSteelMods

Video Cards and other devices
ASUS EAH 5850 TOP DirectCU @ techPowerUp

Memory
G.Skill PI 2200 CL7 F3-17600CL7D-4GBPIS Memory Review @ TweakPC

Sound Cards and devices
EOS wireless loudspeaker system @ TechwareLabs
Arctic Cooling E361-WM Headphones @ Rbmods

Editorials, How-Tos and Modding
Too TRIM? When SSD Data Recovery is Impossible @ Techgage

NZXT Hades Crafted Series Tower

I want to thank NZXT for their generosity in sending me one of their crafted series mid-towers.  For our playtime today, we have the Hades, a 9 bay mid-tower full of premium goodies directed at the PC enthusiast crowd.  I have been looking forward to reviewing NZXT products for quite a while.  I keep an eye on the forums of several different sites and have a few friends who also review items and I have never heard anything but great reviews being directed at NZXT.  Always makes me wonder what I could be missing out on.  So when my boss told me to look out for a couple of their cases that were headed my way, I could not help but check frequently for packages on my door step.  A few things jumped out at me as I opened the box and got a look at the Hades. I am not going to tell you what they were now. You will just have to read about it below. 

Coolermaster GX 750 Power Supply

Coolermaster realized this and came out with the new GX series of power units. As of this writing, the series consists of three units: 550W, 650W and 750W. The power range is not extreme at all, but the most sought after sweet spot. The entire line-up features a single 12 volt rail, which aims it at individuals needing the most stable power when using dual GPU setups. The largest of the three is Nvidia SLI certified. If you are not interested in the multiple graphic setups, but want great efficiency; well the GX has it as well with the 85% mark on all three units. We will take a short look at the new power supply to see what it has to offer.

Ubisoft DRM Cracked

"GAMES PUBLISHER Ubisoft was left with egg on its face after its pitiful attempt at digital rights management was cracked within 24 hours.

Ubisoft managed to generate a storm when it announced its latest DRM policy last week. With previous attempts to protect against so-called 'piracy' failing miserably, Ubisoft thought that by disallowing offline play it could persuade gamers to toe the line."

NVIDIA Drivers Can Kill Your GPU

From HardOCP:

"It seems that NVIDIA has pulled its 196.75 drivers because of overheating issues. Apparently there has been a rash of complaints about dead, dying and overheating video cards. The problem seems to be the fan controller in the 196.75 drivers, no word from NVIDIA on the matter yet."

 

Newegg Ships Counterfeit Intel Core i7 920 CPUs

"Initial reports of the fakes began yesterday when at least 3* 5 separate incidents totaling 7* 9 counterfeit processors cropped up on Youtube, HardOCP and the Overclockers.com forums. The recipients of the fakes had all purchased the CPU’s from Newegg.com within the past few days."

 

'Mission Impossible'-style heist hits N.J. Best Buy

'Mission Impossible'-style heist hits N.J. Best Buy

 

"

Daring thieves staged a "Mission Impossible"-style robbery at the South Brunswick, N.J., Best Buy store, making off with $26,000 worth of Apple laptops early Wednesday morning.

As reported by the Associated Press and Star-Ledger, around 6:30 a.m., store employees discovered the missing laptops along with a hole in the roof. No motion sensors were set off, and nothing was captured on security cameras."

 

Read more here

 

Sceptre Unveils State-of-the-Art 27-inch High-Def LCD Monitors

Perfect for the PC game enthusiast, these widescreen ultra high-resolution monitors keep action crisp and clear to maximize visual stimulation and offer users a top-of-the-line gaming experience – without sacrificing sleek stylish appeal and eco-conscious design. PC enthusiasts can game green with these Energy Star 5.0 complied monitors, which reduce unnecessary energy usage to increase environmental sustainability and prolong monitor life.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS

• Contrast ratio 1000:1 (Native) / 60,000:1 (DCR)
• Response Time 2 ms  (OD)
• Aspect Ratio 16:9 Wide Screen 
• Resolution 1920 x 1080
• Energy Star 5.0 complied
• Brightness 400  cd/m2
• 16.7 million colors
• 50,000 hours lamp life
• Viewing angle: 170° (horizontal) 160° (vertical)
• Connections port: VGA, DVI, HDMI, Audio In
• Built-in speakers: 3 watts per Channel

MAINGEAR Launches New mX-L 15 Multimedia Notebook

Processing Power - mX-L 15 features the all new  Intel® Core™ i5 / i7 mobile processors that boast a combination of fast cache, Turbo Boost Technology, and Hyper-Threading for faster multi-tasking and multimedia.  Coupled with an integrated memory controller and dual channel DDR3 memory, the mX-L 15 delvers a silky smooth computing experience.

AMD Expands AMD Fusion Partner Program

The AMD Fusion Partner Program commercial track focuses on partners that resell OEM solutions and systems to commercial end users to provide their customers with complete platform solutions. The expanded program is designed to deliver a unique, competitive approach to engage partners in SMB, enterprise and public sectors by:

• Offering attractive co-marketing opportunities to multi-national corporations (MNC), software and channel partners
• Focusing heavily on solution-based offerings through increased collaboration with OEMs and software partners
• Delivering partner engagement that is highly customized to a partner’s specific business model

Partners will be placed into one of three business tracks designed to align programs and offerings with partner business models: system distributors, commercial volume resellers or commercial solution providers. To achieve meaningful differentiation and a customized program for each partner, all partners under the AMD Fusion Partner Program will also be placed in one of three tiers: Elite, Premier or Select.