Tech News

• Danger Den Black Series Tower 21 @ PureOverclock

  Published: Sunday, March 13, 2011 | By: Dennis

  Ever wanted to assemble your very own acrylic computer case??  Danger Den might have the answer.

  Danger Den is one company that customizes in acrylic cases to suit various needs and aesthetic preferences. And today we're looking at the Black Series Tower 21, a full tower clear case that seeks to make a big impression. Want a new water cooling setup? Want some unique styling? Read on, the Danger Den Tower 21 might be just up your alley.

  The review sample comes with 7 expansion slots making it perfect for a standard sized motherboard but otherwise unusable for some of the new extended designs we have started to see. 

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• Snooping Timbuk2 camera messenger bag @ Tech Report

  Published: Sunday, March 13, 2011 | By: Dennis

  When I travel the various trade shows I am often seen carriyng around a Ninjalane branded messenger bag. (one with the Ninjalane logo and star on it)  It's not that I want to carry around dead weight over my shoulder but rather I need some place to store the gear I carry around on a daily basis, camera, pens, notebook, swag etc..  The toughest decision when picking a bag like this is.. will it hold everything? and will it also be safe?

  It would seem Geoff over at Tech Report has taken on a similar task and wrote up a review of his findings.

  For more than a decade, I lugged my notebook in a simple shoulder bag. I suppose you'd call it a messenger-style bag today, but I got it before fixed-gear bikes were seen outside of velodromes being ridden by men wearing skinny jeans from the women's department. In those days, it was just a bag—the one that accompanied me to and from class every day.

  I need to see one of these things in person since if the form factor is correct it might be a perfect replacement for what I'm using now.

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• NVIDIA's dual-Fermi card that never was ?!?

  Published: Friday, March 11, 2011 | By: Dennis

  By now we have all heard the rumors about the dual GPU card from nVidia rumored to be called the GTX 590.  As the name suggests it is supposed to be faster than the current flagship GTX 580 and if history holds true will feature 2 "lesser" GPUs on a single card with a bridge chip connecting and splitting bandwidth between the GPUs.

  Because of this bridge chip you won't be able to link more than 2 physical cards together but will take up less room than 4 cards from the same GPU family.

  I found the following image on 2 sites.  Tested (http://www.tested.com) and  engadget (http://www.engadget.com)  and what immediately caught my eye was the ghostly white vampire'ish PCB color and rather "fake" looking component parts. 

  

  PAX East 2011, which kicks off tomorrow, is widely expected to finally deliver a dual-GPU solution from NVIDIA's Fermi family of graphics chips, a PCI Express-saturating single-card workhorse to be known as the GTX 590. While we wait for its arrival, however, here's a sentimental look back upon 2010 and another little prototype that NVIDIA had kicking around its labs back then.

  Does that mean this is simply a mockup or the collective creation of a master model builder looking for his 15min of fame and fortune?  Given the total size of the PMW, I'll cry foul but qualify that by saying, OMG this is sweet!! 

  Check either of the above sites for more pictures of this wicked white video card.

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• Corsair SP2500 2.1 Gaming Speakers Review @ Techgage

  Published: Friday, March 11, 2011 | By: Dennis

  Wait!?! what? Corsair is making speaker systems now?  It might be hard to believe but Corsair has been branching out in an attempt to expand their product line and diversify the portfolio. 
  
  I did get an introduction to these speakers at CES and while the display demo sounded great it wasn't until I started talking with them about actual speaker specs and design that I realized Corsair had done their homework.  Sadly doing your homework is sometimes only part of the story.

  With the launch of its HS1 headset last fall, Corsair proved that the audio market wasn't one it was planning on jumping into without first making sure that its products would impress. But what about those gamers that don't like to use headphones? The answer is the SP2500, a speaker set with a unique design, and a lot of power.
  

  Do check out the review at Techgage while I finish up this news post with a little rant of my own.

  The one thing that Corsair did that really disgusted me was when they called their subwoofer system a "4th order".  Anyone that knows anything about speaker box design knows that "4th order" was a marketing term created in the early days of car audio (I believe by MTX) to describe the more technical term of "Single Reflex Bandpass"  Ie a subwoofer placed in an enclosure where the back of the speaker is sealed (with a tuned volume) and the front of the speaker is facing another sealed enclosure with a tuned vent.
  
  The reason for this is simply to tune the subwoofer to a certain frequency and make that limited range very efficient.  Sadly the problem associated with this kind of enclosure design is limited bass response due to the non-tuned frequencies being muffled and basically filtered out.  Yes you get hard hitting bass but not fluid base response. 
  
  Then again it is more about what the end result, and it would seem this is what Corsair bought in to.

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• OC3D: ThermoLab Trinity Review

  Published: Friday, March 11, 2011 | By: Dennis

  I love this quote to describe the review.

  The Thermolab Trinity gets the OC3D Heatsink torture treatment.

  We have looked at a Thermolab cooler in the past and found the performance to be exceptional over both OEM and other high end cooling solutions.  The Trinity takes many of those concepts and improves on them.  For instance the heatsink is now a core contact design and while we often consider these coolers to be inferior they do well if you stay below their thermal boundaries.

  Look for our review of the Thermolab Trinity in the next couple days.

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• NL: Review Block - Quest for Uncommon Video Cards

  Published: Friday, March 11, 2011 | By: Dennis

  One of the unfortunate things about high end computer hardware is that some (if not all) is rarely sold in the US.  We used to pay special attention to hardware like this since it helped the site stand out, however, as you can imagine it is difficult to obtain review samples when your website is US based and the company has no market.

  Here are a few video cards you will rarely see for sale in the US.

  - Sparkle Calibre X580 Video Card Review @ Madshrimps
  - Zotac Geforce GTX 570 Review @ Tweaknews
  - Gainward GeForce GTX 570 Phantom Review @ TweakPC
  - Geforce GTX 570 SLI Performance @ Hardwareoverclock

  Funny thing is I believe Sparkle has their US offices in Miami, you'd think their presence would be bigger.

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• 6 Things You Should NEVER Buy Used

  Published: Thursday, March 10, 2011 | By: Dennis

  The top 6 things you should never buy used?  You might be surprised what is on the list. 

  The weak economy has many cash-strapped consumers opting to purchase items secondhand, but buyers beware: Not all items are fit to be purchased used.
  
  "When the economy first bottomed out, a lot of people shopped resale for the first time," says Adele Meyer, executive director of National Association of Resale Professionals.  "And once they get that first bargain, they're hooked, there's a real thrill to finding something that you get such a good buy on."  
  

  I know several people who check out at Craigslist on a daily basis looking for deals on just about anything.  While you can find some great deals on Craigslist you have to ask yourself, do you really need all of that stuff?  Along the same lines, are you really saving when you buy used?

  Don't get me wrong I love to search ebay for computer hardware,  you always run the risk that the gear will be dead or damaged during shipping but, if you can get the item at a fraction of the cost it can be worth it, especially if it's no longer in production and/or you need something specific.

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• NL: Review Block - Motherboards

  Published: Thursday, March 10, 2011 | By: Dennis

  Normally I like to do full news postings on motherboard reviews but when there are a bunch in the news box it makes sense to group them into a review block.

  Motherboards
  - Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H Motherboard Review @ GeekInvaders
  - Asus Crosshair IV Extreme AMD 890FX Motherboard @ HotHardware
  - Sapphire Pure Black X58 LGA1366 Motherboard Review @ Hardware Canucks
  - ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional Series @ PureOverclock
  - Gigabyte's Fusion-infused GA-E350N-USB3 motherboard @ TR
  - ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 @ techPowerUp
  - Gigabyte G1 Assassin and Intel Core i7 990X Extreme Edition Review – 5ghz @ KitGuru
  - GIGABYTE G1.Assassin @ Bjorn3D
  - GIGABYTE P67A-UD4 Motherboard Performance Review @ Legit Reviews

  Be sure to check out our latest review the Asus Rampage III Extreme.  A gamers toy for the hardware enthusiast.

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• NL: Review Block - AMD Radeon HD 6990 - Dual GPU Monster

  Published: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 | By: Dennis

  Launch day for the new AMD flagship GPU the Radeon HD6990

  

  Video Cards - HD 6990

  - AMD Radeon HD 6990 review @ Guru3D
  - AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB Dual GPU Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews
  - AMD HD6990 Review @ KitGuru
  - AMD HD6990 review @Bjorn3D
  - AMD's Radeon HD 6990 graphics card @ Techreport
  - PowerColor Radeon HD 6990 CrossFire @ techPowerUp
  - ASUS Radeon HD 6990 4 GB @ techPowerUp
  - AMD Radeon HD 6990 Review: Antilles Has Arrived @ HotHardware
  - AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB graphics card reviewed and rated @ Hexus
  - AMD Radeon HD 6990 Graphics Card Review @ HardwareHeaven
  - AMD Radeon HD 6990 4GB Review @ Hardware Canucks
  - OC3D: PowerColor HD6990 Crossfire Review

  Now to decide, do we all upgrade from our HD 6970's or modded HD 6950's or stay with what we bought?

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• EK Waterblocks full cover block for the Asus Rampage III Extreme Review @ Madshrimps

  Published: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 | By: Dennis

  Watercooling has really left the limelight now that it has been commercialized but that doesn't mean it is gone.  In fact it has become quite big and is a common upgrade in most enthusiast systems.
  
  Here we have a bunch of full coverage motherboard waterblocks, after trolling over the waterblock review be sure to read our review of the Asus Rampage III Extreme.

  Ever tried to keep your X58 motherboards IOH and ICH temps at a reasonable operating temperatures ? To be honest most of the stock heatsinks really need some help as they are underdimensioned and/or lack an active fan. Temperatures over 65°C are very comon. Many watercooling companies jumped on the wagon to manufacture a all in one cooling solution for all the hot parts of the mainboard. No seperate waterblocks for the IOH and ICH chipset or PWM area. One block that cools down the hottest parts of your favoruite motherboard. EK Waterblocks was so kind to send us their clear nickel plated version for the Asus Rampage 3 Extreme
  

  Of the enthusiast motherboards on the market, the Rampage III Extreme is likely the best candidate for the upgrade especially if you plan to overclock or want to keep system temps in check while still maintaining a low system noise level.

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