Tuesday Reviews

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In today's world of power supplies we have seen units that boast power way beyond the limits that most of us would need this year or next. The PC Power and Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW may be just one of those units. But just because PC P&C makes one of the best high powered units out there, doesn't mean they have forgotten about the individuals that don't need this much energy to power their rigs. So along comes the Silencer 610. The Silencer 610 may not be able to brag about huge power ratings but if it lives up to PC P&C's reputation, it can at least brag about solid stability amongst its rails.

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For many open source enthusiasts, the problem is finding the funds to help support their favorite open source projects, which include various Linux distros. It's not that we do not have the money, it's the method of forwarding the necessary funds that's the problem.

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"The Ultra X3 600W power supply has a lot to recommend. Its fully modular design and FlexForce cabling system are very unique and will be a boon to users who like to have neat, tidy installs. The cable assortment is complete and provides the user with plenty of connectors supporting a wide variety of configurations. The X3 is relatively compact, very stable and efficient. This should be more than enough PSU for the vast majority of users."

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The new Leadtek/WinFast PX8600 GTS TDH Extreme graphics card with the GDDR3 memory clocked to 1000(2000)Mhz and the GPU set to 710Mhz it is set to be a real screamer for the money, but can it do it? We put this new card through some hard testing and it came out without a scratch.

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"The TiVo HD is the mainstream consumer Series 3 TiVo. At $300, the device is more palatable to consumers who balked at an $800 price tag. The box has a smaller hard drive than the original Series 3 box, and doesn't come with OLED screen, THX certification, or a fancy case. So how does a $300 HD set top box work? Well, I will say it wasn't boring."

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Quote: If there was ever a character that could fit the definition of "Everyman" Nintendo's Italian, suspender-wearing, high pitched hero Mario could be it. Mario has done just about everything. From golf, to tennis, to bowling, to basketball, to building time machines, curing diseases, participating in the Olympics, fighting gigantic monkeys, baking cookies, driving go carts, and of course being an all around hero, Mario has done just about every activity under the sun.

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The Cooler Master Cosmos is the company's newest high-end offering designed to be a follow up on the highly successful Stacker Series. The case did not only grow in dimension & weight but also offers a long list of new and unique features. You will find seperate hard drive drawers, four fans and foam covered side panels among many other details.

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TTIC has been around since the late 90's, though it's only since few years that they jumped into the desktop CPU cooling market. Because of their advanced knowledge of heatpipe technology they have already accomplished quite a bit, now TTIC is exploring a very new world, water cooling. Two new products were being released, the so called Micro Flow series, and judging on its design we were anxious to see how it performed with a Quad Core CPU.

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"Day after day, more and more computers move to living rooms, with more and more users using their computers from the comfort of their armchairs and couches. Logitech always had something to offer to such users, mainly products like universal remote controllers and wireless keyboards/mice. The MX Air model is a kind of a convergence of the mentioned products, offering the functionality of an RC and properties of a wireless laser mouse."

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"On the Phoronix Forums we have been running a Q&A with the developers of the Nouveau project. For those out of the loop or new to Linux, the Nouveau project aims to provide an open-source 2D/3D graphics driver for NVIDIA hardware. After collecting a number of questions from our readers, KoalaBR and Marcheu have answered these questions. The questions range from whether there will be open-source SLI support to asking if NVIDIA has ever contacted the Nouveau developers."

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As notebooks become more powerful, they are also getting hotter. Many of today's gaming notebooks are made with high performance CPU, dedicated GPU, and a fast 7200 rpm hard drive. These components offer excellent performance but also generate tremendous heat, something you don't want to find on your notebook. Unlike desktop components, notebook components usually are not replaceable and even if they are, it is usually not easy to do by average users. Hence, the cooling of the notebook components are highly dependant on the level of craftsmanship used by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, due to the need to keep the notebooks light, sometimes it is not easy to offer the best cooling for all the top of the line CPU, GPU, and hard drives inside that one-inch portable unit.

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Most users these days know to at least protect their PCs with a surge protector, but in truth, that is not nearly enough. Surge protectors do not protect against blackouts, brownouts or "dirty" power, but an interruptible power supply can. Today we takes a look at the Smart1000LCD UPS from Tripp Lite. It is a 1000VA / 500W unit with a blue backlit LCD display that provides real-time power status.

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"The people that will be taking advantage of this new processor will be the new system builders trying to get their best bang for the buck at the moment. Seeing this processor can be purchased for under US$200, it is a lot cheaper than the US$320 E6700 it is replacing. In my opinion, Intel is inviting people to take advantage of this processor by cutting the price so drastically that the price difference could allow you to buy the different motherboard to take advantage of it."

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Over recent years, ASUS has left a firm mark on the consumer pc market with a strong and ever growing list of reputable and reliable products, these including some of the best notebooks and graphics cards out there. Now they are extending their portfolio even further by throwing the gauntlet down to Creative and attempting to challenge them at their own favourite event; maybe even leaving with a gold medal too. All this remains to be seen but top marks right off the bat for having a crack at Creative who in my opinion have had far too much leg room in the sound card arena.

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It's easy to write rave reviews of Antec products. They've been in the industry long enough to know what PC enthusiasts want and they have a reputation for delivering it. Today, I'm excited to review the Sonata III. People might say I'm a little biased toward Antec. Most of the cases I've owned throughout the years have sported the Antec Logo. We could do a cell phone commercial showing off bars with the different sized Antec cases in my home. I may give them to friends, but I never throw them away. They're well-made and nice to look at. Now how can you trust me to tell you the truth about the Antec Sonata III? Simple: I expect more out of Antec. If they fail to deliver, I'll be the first to notice it and the first to say something about it.

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To accommodate those mid-range users, Powercolor started manufacturing the HD 2400 series video cards. Every card in the HD 2400 Series has DirectX 10 support, 1080p, Universal Video Decoding, and HDMI with surround sound. Today, we have the Powercolor HD2400 Pro on our test bench. This card's $59 MSRP should definitely entice users who are looking for a mid-range gaming card with multimedia capabilities. Let's move right into our review to see just how the HD 2400 Pro stacks up to the demands of Windows Vista Ultimate and DirectX 10 gaming.