Tech News
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Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer DDR3-1600 4GB Kit Review @ ocInside
Published: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | By: DennisLooking for some bling for your memory modules can don't want to afford the Corsair solution? Then the Crucial Ballistix Tracer might be what you are looking for.
Today, ocinside.de published again an interesting DDR3 memory review. This time the new Crucial Ballistix Smart tracer DDR3-1600 modules are tested, which offers fast timings, high frequencies and a special highlight, in the truest sense of the word. We already know activity LEDs in different colors on the top of the modules and near the pins from several Crucial Ballistix Tracer reviews. But these new Smart Tracer RAM LEDs can be programmed with a special BallistixUtility and additionally the software can show the temperature of the DDR3 memory modules and write it into a log file. The temperature monitoring of the RAM is particularly interesting for overclocking and for us one reason more to overclock these modules up to the limit. Let us see, what these Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer PC3-12800 CL8 4GB DDR3 kit can offer in addition to colored lighting and temperature monitoring.
The modules even come with some software to program what the LEDs do, sounds like what Corsair did back with the Xpert modules back in the day.
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Where does Homefront fit into the online Multiplayer market? @ GamingHeaven
Published: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 | By: DennisIt is clear that Homefront was designed to be a Multi player game given the lack luster single player story (despite the awesome backstory) and inclusion of LAN play out of the box. I haven't written off Homefront just quite yet but do long for a game with a good single player story.
FPS titles no longer focus on the single player experience. It's a sad fact but one that's becoming increasingly true with the release each new game as the single player lover is left in the dark. The most recent example of the future of single player FPS games was the startlingly short (at 3 hours play-time) single player campaign of the hotly anticipated Homefront.
Well said.
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Gigabyte Fires Back on Rumors of P67 Board Cancellation
Published: Monday, April 18, 2011 | By: DennisThere are several tech sites out there who thrive on a scatter gun approach to reporting the news, the idea is to keep firing, eventually you'll hit something good. I guess it works since they seem to be making money at it.
Early today there as a widespread report claiming that Gigabyte was going to shift their entire motherboard focus on the new Z68 chipset and basically stop producing the P67 version. While it seems silly that Gigabyte would stop a good thing there might be some truth in there someplace.
Here is a snip from Gigabyte in response to the rumor.
The industry reports about GIGABYTE cancelling all P67 projects and moving 100% to next gen Intel 6 series chipset models are misleading and unfounded. GIGABYTE will continue producing P67 chipset motherboards until the end of 2011, and the H67 models are expected to be available well into 2012.
Rumor sites often employ "perspective" when coming up with new stories. For instance in the issue of Gigabyte P67 projects the truth is they will still be producing current P67 designs until they can no longer obtain chipsets from Intel. The "twisted" truth is that since initial design for current P67 motherboards was done MONTHS ago and with Z68 being the next best thing you can assume that Gigabyte will be focusing their efforts on the new board design.
Both are true but the "twisted" version isn't very PC but is interesting enough that people will read it and naive people will believe it.
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SilverStone Raven RV03 Introducted
Published: Monday, April 18, 2011 | By: DennisSilverStone has been busy designing the next great computer chassis and they might have nailed it.
The RAVEN team's continued push to redefine and perfect the enthusiast tower chassis has resulted in yet another benchmark in the RAVEN RV03. With world-class cooling performance from the previous RAVEN chassis models retained by the included 180mm Air Penetrator fans, a rethinking of the interior layout enabled dramatic reduction in overall depth of the chassis compared to RAVEN RV02 while still matching RAVEN RV01's ability to accommodate Extended ATX motherboard and graphics cards longer than 13 inches.
Personally I am a big fan of the RV02 chassis given it was more compact than the RV01 and featured better cooling. Can the RV03 live up to the hype?
Great color scheme!, but to be honest that woudl be the first thing I would change.
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The Worst Tax Scams of 2011
Published: Monday, April 18, 2011 | By: DennisThis isn't really tech news but today is tax day in the US. Now while we pay taxes for just about everything we are required to file an income tax form once a year to basically "square" up what we actual owe vs what we actually paid. In most cases, if we have figured our withholdings propelry, we will be entitled to a refund. On the flip side if we don't figure the tax correctly or make a bunch of money that wasn't taxed there is a good chance we'll have to pay some extra.
The funny thing about paying income tax is that aside from the various forms proving what you paid vs what you made it is very difficut to track the various things you are allowed to claim as a tax deduction.
The IRS recently released its annual list of the worst tax scams and warned consumers to steer clear of these schemes or face significant financial penalties. The warning is particularly relevant now that we've entered the home stretch of tax season, as many consumers who have yet to file have probably put it off because they owe money.
Tax scams usually reside in the gray area of tax deductions to help reduce your taxable income. Taking advantage of these can not only land you in big trouble for the current year but can also trigger an audit which can look at past submissions as well.
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Crucial Ballistix Finned DDR3 1866 MHz CL9 4 GB @ techPowerUp
Published: Friday, April 15, 2011 | By: DennisThese aren't the fastest modules around but have a very unique style about them, in a way they resemble some of the old Patriot Viper designs of old.
The Crucial Ballistix Finned memory does not only look cool, but they also pack an on-board sensor so that you can actually make sure they stay cool during use and extreme overclocking. We take the 1866 MHz kit for a spin to check if it manages to make an impression or barely ding our armor.
On the Sandy Bridge platform memory speed is more important than timings for every day usage but when it comes down to system tuning you'll want to make sure to get a good quality module, and while popular, fancy heatspreaders don't really do much to enhance performance.
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NL: Review Block - April 15 2k11 - Cases Coolers and Stuff
Published: Friday, April 15, 2011 | By: DennisCases
- Cooler Master Storm Enforcer @ LanOC Reviews
- Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Gaming Case Review @ Hardware Canucks
- In Win BUC Mid-Tower Case Review @ ThinkComputers
- Thermaltake Level 10 GT Case Review @ Tweaknews
- Cooler Master Storm Enforcer @ PureOverclock
- CM Storm Enforcer @ TweakPC
- Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Gaming Tower @ Pro-Clockers
- Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Computer Case @ APH Networks
Cards (video)
- TechwareLabs Review: Sapphire HD 6950 FleX 2GB Graphics Card
- Sapphire Radeon HD 5850 Xtreme 1GB Review @ Techgage
Coolers
- Thermaltake Jing Silent CPU Cooler Review @ Legit Reviews
Mice
- CM Storm Spawn Gaming Mouse reviewed in Metku
Motherboards
- ASUS P8P76 WS Revolution: Elegant and Perfectly Functional @ InsideHW
- Gigabyte P67A-UD7-B3 Sandy Bridge Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
- OC3D: ASUS Sabertooth P67A B3 Review
- ASUS Rampage III Black Edition review @ Guru3D
- ASUS Rampage III Black Edition Review @ ocaholic
- Sapphire Pure Black X58 Motherboard Review @ Legit Reviews
More hot review action to come, have a great weekend! -
Corsair AirFlow Pro Memory Temperature Monitor Review @ Techgage
Published: Friday, April 15, 2011 | By: DennisCorsair started the whole activity leds on memory but Crucial was the company who kept it alive. In a way its nice to see it coming back.
Have a desire to add a bit of 'bling' to your PC, but fear being ridiculed for it? Well, there's no better excuse for bling than with Corsair's AirFlow Pro add-on for the company's AirFlow 2 memory cooler. In addition to offering a hypnotizing light-show, the AirFlow Pro can also keep you informed on your memory's usage and temperatures.
Keep in mind these aren't lights on the modules but rather an external module that attaches to the modules to report on the module activity. Corsair made it sound like a really big deal and given what can be reported I would tend to agree.
Of course the only downside is cost and availability, and neither are very attractive.
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Gears 3 and Duke Forever at Gadget Show 2011 - XSR
Published: Friday, April 15, 2011 | By: DennisFor those wanting to see a little more related to these two anticipated games be sure to check out the posted over at XS Reviews.
One of the more fun parts of Gadget Show Live 2011 this year was playing some of the latest games. Here’s us in action checking out two of the most hotly anticipated titles of 2011; Duke Nuke’m Forever and Gears of War 3
I know most people feel that Duke Nukem Forever (assuming it is ever released) will be a too little too late flop and only find fame and fortune in back alley trades and piracy rings but I do plan to buy the game. I just hope they have a tin box edition so I can add it to my collection.
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Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Case Launch Day
Published: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 | By: DennisWe do love launch days, especially when we can be part of the festivities.
Here are some reviews from around the web including the first one you should read.
Today we are looking at the latest gaming chassis in the CM Storm line, the Enforcer. The Enforcer is a true mid-tower design targeted at both enthusiasts and budget minded gamers. In true CM Storm fashion the Enforcer offers a solid list of features that read like a wish list of upgrades while maintaining a level of versatility that is appealing to the DIY system builder and modder alike.
- NinjalaneCooler Master Storm Enforcer Case Review @ Ninjalane
Other Reviews
- Cooler Master Enforcer chassis review @ Guru3D
- Cooler Master CM Storm Enforcer Case Review @ KitGuru
- Cooler Master Storm Enforcer Computer Case @ APH NetworksThere will likely be more as the day progresses so stay tuned!
