Tech News
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MSI GeForce GTX 660 HAWK 2 GB @ techPowerUp
Published: Thursday, October 25, 2012 | By: DennisSo what is the difference between the GTX 660 Hawk and the GTX 660 Ti Power Edition that we reviewed?? Well, on the surface they look similar, same heatsink, same video connections and even the same color. Its not until you look under the heatsink that things begin to change.
Oh and GTX 660 core vs GTX 660Ti core, ya that is a big difference.
MSI's new GeForce GTX 660 HAWK is a fully customized, overclocked GTX 660. It comes with the company's signature TwinFrozr cooler and includes goodlies like dual BIOS and voltage measurements points.
Maybe the most impressive difference is the PWM design found on all HAWK level video cards, they are monsters and resemble the components found on the lightnings. Combine that with a GPU reactor and fancy back plate and you get an awesome card just waiting to be overclocked.
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NL: Review Block - Memory, Cases and Stuff - 10/22/12
Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 | By: DennisNothing too special with this review block just catching up on the news.
Memory
- Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR3 2133MHz 16GB Kit Review @ Custom PC Review
- Crucial Ballistix Tactical Tracer DDR3-1866 16GB Quad Channel Memory Kit Review @ ThinkComputers
- G.Skill Trident X 2400MHz RAM Kit @ PlanetOverclock
- Corsair Dominator Platinum 1866MHz 8GB Kit Review @ Pro-Clockers
Cases
- Cougar Challenger Mid-Tower ATX Gaming Case Review @ HCW
- NZXT Phantom 820 Case Review @ OCmodshop
- SilverStone Temjin TJ04-E Computer Case Review @ APH Networks
- NZXT Phantom 820 Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced @ LanOC Reviews
Mice & Speakers
- Corsair Vengeance M60 Gaming Mouse Review @ TechwareLabs
- T.N.T Headphones by Subjekt Review @ TechwareLabs
- ROCCAT Savu Gaming Mouse @ PureOverclock
Misc
- Testing NVIDIA's Linux Threaded OpenGL Optimizations @ Phoronix
- UDIRC Microquad UFO reviewed in MetkuMore news to come
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HWBOT Tales of Taipei - Gigabench, ASRock OC magic, MSI, MOA
Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 | By: DennisMassman at HWBot is living the dream, not only does he run the popular HWBot website (with some help) but gets to travel around the world checking out the latest hardware direct from the factory.
It would seem for the past month he has been living abroad in Taipei floating around the various mfg offices and testing the latest hardware including Trinity, the EOL GTX 680 Lightning and some cool stuff at ASRock.
Quite some time has passed since my first report of what’s going on in the center of hardware. Although it may seem quiet, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. Not only did MSI create a sudden rise in overclockers staying in Taiwan, we’ve seen a couple of new overclocking records and new CPU releases. Being able to check in with the vendors on a (much more) regular basis gives an interesting insight on how product launches are prepared and what role overclocking plays in that. Sadly enough most of the discussions I have are under strict NDA, so you’ll have to do with the following report. Enjoy!
Some will say that reporting on the happenings in the hardware world should be excatly like this with hardware falling from the sky and your pockets lined with processors and corn chips but sadly that pipedream never came true for me, or many others for that matter.
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ASRock Announces the Release of its Top Tier Z77 Extreme11 Motherboard
Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 | By: DennisTrolling HWBot today I noticed a press release from one of their sponsors, ASRock.
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TAIPEI, Taiwan, October 17, 2012 – For those who haven’t taken a leap to Intel’s Z77 and Ivy Bridge combo yet, either you’re cultivating self discipline or you’re planning to prey upon something big. Well, now is the big moment, because ASRock is releasing its beastlike Z77 Extreme11! This tiptop motherboard has 8 SAS2/SATA3 connectors supported by an LSI™ SAS2308 PCIe 3.0 x8 controller. For extreme graphics, 3-Way SLI/4-Way CrossFireX is supported via a PLX PEX 8747 bridge. The LAN solution is also tempting. Two Intel® LAN chips to support dual LAN and teaming, while there’s also a 2T2R Dual Band WiFi & Bluetooth 4.0 module and a bundled Wi-SB Box. Specially designed for computer enthusiasts, Z77 Extreme11 possesses unbeatable hardware and extreme powers waiting to be unleashed.
The layout of this motherboard is quite good its got a PLX PCI Express switch, Wi-Fi, dual Intel Ethernet, gold caps and active cooling on the South Bridge. If you can get past the Black and Gold color scheme you'll find eight SAS/SATA drive connections and a PCI Express layout supporting 4-way GPU setups.
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Who controls the internet?
Published: Sunday, October 21, 2012 | By: DennisThe internet has gotten big!
While that statement can really go without saying it is important to realize that while the internet is far reaching there are parts of the world that are without internet. Most claim that the cost of internet admission is too steep for developing countries. While others argue that money is being misappropriated to pad pockets of those in charge instead of building infrastructure.
In this article at the Guardian the author talks about some of the challenges of the internet and what the "higher ups" are planning to do about it.
But that's not the only battle that will be played out this December when the ITU's 193 member states gather in Dubai. Russia and China have been explicit in their goal of taking control of the internet away from the US, while developing countries feel the western technology hegemony is limiting their economic opportunities. With the world's internet population predicted to reach 3.4 billion by 2016, there is everything to play for
Sadly the above quote seems to be the underlying message in the whole article, it's almost like the world doesn't appreciate the technology that the US has shared. Or maybe they have misunderstood "the American way". Yes, Americans have the ability to start a business and are given the freedom to get rich but you can't just put up a sign or start a website and expect money to start flowing in.
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EVGA Z77 FTW (Moving Beyond Overclocking) @ Techreaction
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | By: DennisShame on you for thinking that there was anything "but" overclocking
We would like to thank EVGA for providing this feature filled monster – for our scrutiny. Yeah; many say – “over kill”, we say “Ports?” – “Can we use them?” – Well yes we can! Where others see brag factor, we see utility, functionality and purpose. Well, right about now you may be thinking that this board comes with all those lovely x16 slots and dual CPU 8 pin power inputs and… So what?
We have seen the limits of the Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge pushed. We know you can get 5 Gigahertz on air with sandy bridge and 4.7 Gigahertz+ on air with the Ivy Bridge. We know that other than minor differences that fall within the margin of error but the fact is – Z77 on air, is Z77 on air. There is no competition from other companies so Z77 is it for the mainstream. We have a board with all of its papers and a proven pedigree that really never really gets to show off all of its other parts so there will be no real overclocking (everyone else can do that) this time around. We will instead focus on the strengths of the construction and component integration
This board comes with the standard four SATA II ports and two SATA III provided via the Intel chipset and two more internal SATA III via Marvell internal ports, two eSATA, raid functionality based on the Intel chip, software raid through Windows and if that is not enough there are ten USB ports on the rear (4 USB 3.0 Spec) with an additional six provided by the expansion bracket (2 USB 3.0 Spec) and Dual GB LAN! We will use most of them after we get finished with the basics of the review.I would like to say that the EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard was one of the coolest boards I ever used but, it wasn't without a few issues. The biggest of these is OC Memory support (which I am told has been sorted out) and the less than stellar packaging. Truth be told I rarely comment on the package since 90% of the time after the product has been removed the box gets recycled. After this who cares if the board is in clamshell plastic?
Of course overclocking is a big part of the Z77 FTW but that doesn't mean you have to actually OC on a regular basis. In fact stability is often a byproduct of a highly crafted overclocking product. Does it stand up to the TechReaction? you'll have to check out the article to know for sure.
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SilverStone Heligon Series HE01 CPU Cooler Review @ HardwareHeaven
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | By: DennisSilverstone is back in the heatsink arena and doing things right this time. One of the first heatsinks out in the retail channels is the HE01 Heligon. This is a dual tower cooler with a single 35mm wide fan located in the middle.
The focus of today's review is one of SilverStones latest coolers. From the Heligon series the HE01 supports all recent CPU sockets and has one of the chunkiest bundled fans we have seen, as well as the option to install two more on the heatsink if we wish.
I have one of these coolers chilling my Core i7 3930K and so far am really happy with the results. Sadly the HardwareHeaven crew decided to install on the AMD platform which is far from pushing the limits and also one of the most difficult installs you could possibly do.
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BitFenix Hydra Pro & Recon Fan Controllers Review @ Hardware Canucks
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 | By: DennisYou say "fan controller" I say, "why aren't there more options?"
Fan controllers may not be a marquee item within many enthusiasts’ systems but the power they grant over airflow within a case cannot be underestimated. BitFenix's Hydra Pro and Recon controllers hail from very different ends of the spectrum but they both grant end users complete control over their system fans.
Back in the early days of modding there was no such thing as a fan controller so, you built your own. Seems now days you can find them on every street corner, assuming the street corner is an online casemodding store AND the site decides to take a chance and stock them.
If I didn't know any better I'd say fan controllers don't sell all that well.
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NL: Review Block - Asus Matrix Day
Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 | By: DennisThe Asus Matrix is one of the "better" cards you can buy when it comes to overclocking due in part to the enhanced engineering and large triple slot cooler. Of course non-overclockers will also like the card considering the hefy factory overclock and sleek Asus styling.
Web Reviews
- ASUS Matrix HD 7970 Platinum review: 1.4 kg graphics card
- ASUS MATRIX HD 7970 Platinum @ Bjorn3D
- Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum Graphics Card ReviewI wouldn't expect to see a Matrix on the Ninjalane test bench any time soon considering how difficult they are to come by.
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NL: Review Block - ASRock and MSI go all Motherboard
Published: Friday, October 12, 2012 | By: DennisIt would seem that MSI and ASRock are having a friendly competition to see who can get the most motherboards out for review. By my count ASRock is ahead.
Web Reviews
- MSI Z77 MPOWER @ PureOverclock
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula Intel LGA 1155 @ techPowerUp
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula review: designed by Nick Shih
- MSI Z77 MPower review: guaranteed to overclock
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard Review @ ThinkComputers
- ASRock Z77 OC Formula @ PureOverclock
- MSI Z77 MPower @ ocaholicBeing ahead is only part of the battle, to really be successful you must generate interest in your product and prove it can do what you claim. What do you think? did both companies hit the mark?
