Monday Reviews

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Antec makes superb computer cases for all types of situations. One of the latest markets of custom cases is the entertainment PC. There are specific requirements for a PC that fits with a home theater setup including good cooling and a small A/V form factor. Antec has a new case called the Micro Fusion Remote 350 which targets this exact market.

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While Logitech is a company that graces ASE Labs' test bench often, it is not often that we get to see a highly targeted type of keyboard combo. The Logitech Wave Pro Desktop is targeted to the consumer market unlike their G series products. Don't let that fool you. This combo has some good (and not so good) features that set it apart from its gaming brethren.

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When readers come to ASE Labs and see a graphics card review, they expect to find a high speed entry with a bunch of bells and whistles. There is another section of the market that ASE Labs reaches and that is the mainstream builders and entertainment PC builders. These types of buyers have very different requirements than the so-called enthusiast. Speed and performance take a back seat to form factor, noise, and features. Most small cases only support low profile cards and the Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 steps in to provide the video on your entertainment system.

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External hard drive storage is the technology that people are using to keep their data backed up in multiple locations in the current era of technology. There are good products and bad ones just the same but not all enclosures promise the same thing. The Thermaltake BlacX was probably the first unit to take a hard drive and turn it into the removable storage. Now you can easily keep multiple physical backups with ease using this product. Pretty interesting.

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Quote: The I-Rocks RF-6572 2.4GHz wireless keyboard mouse combo is a very simple, yet effective wireless keyboard and mouse combo. Vista recognized both devices quickly, and used them without any additional software or problems. With a price of about $40, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this combo to anyone looking for a simple wireless keyboard and mouse setup.

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Quote: The ECS GF9300T-A Black Series GeForce 9300 motherboard is hopefully a BIOS update away from being an incredible motherboard. It seems well conceived and well designed, but there are just too many issues and limiting factors to get overly excited about it as is. The performance was respectable in many tests anyway, and it makes me wonder just how good this board could be (at stock speeds or overclocked) if it wasn't being held back.

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Quote: The most notable gamer friendly feature the OCZ Technology Alchemy Series Elixir I keyboard offers is the set of programmable macro buttons which allow users to use a single keystroke to send a multi-keystroke sequence to the computer. Five of these macro buttons can be found on each end of the keyboard (for a total of 10), with each being colored in a contracting blue hue and labeled L1-L10.

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You may recall that the SG-850 received the first 10 out of 10 rating I've ever given out for performance, and I have a confession to make: after that product's very impressive showing, I installed it into my main computer where it is now running as I type this, displacing a very impressive in its own right 1200W unit. Not just any unit can make that claim, and you better believe that I want to see how the 650W version performs just as much as you all do. Let's get things rolling with a few box shots.

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With DDR3 memory becoming cheaper and getting more and more popular, it's good to see memory manufacture's like G.skill still improving DDR2 memory modules. They are making them perform better using less voltage, while also improving the cooling of DDR2 memory modules. We are going to look at a set of memory modules that fits this catagory from G.skill, the PI Black series memory PC26400 DDR2 800MHz 4-4-4-12 with 1.9 volts. So let's take a look at how well they performed.

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Every now and then, motherboard manufacturers will release a board specifically made for the high end market. Much like Intel's Extreme series processors, these extravagent boards throw caution to the wind and load up with as many features as possible, no matter what the cost. The last high end motherboard from Asus was the Striker II Extreme based on the 790i Ultra chipset and guess what folks, it's that time once again. Introducing Asus' latest luxurious creation, the Rampage Extreme featuring Intel's X48 chipset. This board overflows with awesome and takes high end to another level. The 'RE' provides native 1600MHz front side bus support, full x16 CrossFireX capability, up to 8GB of DDR3-2000 memory compatibiltiy, an X-Fi soundcard and the biggest bundle ever. If you like cutting edge, you'll love this review as I conducted both quad and dual core testing along with making use of those two PCIe x16 slots with 4870X2 cards in CrossFire. Oh yea! Read on to find out if this monstrosity can take the coveted crown as the best motherboard on the market.

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* Today I will be looking at the predecessor to that motherboard, the ASRock A780GXE/128M. It sports an AMD 780G chipset, the platform that the 790GX was based on. It also has AMD's Hybrid Graphics via the SB700 Southbridge, which begat the 790GX's SB750 setup. You may ask why I am looking back at this earlier board, when we've already seen its successor.well, this motherboard sells for well under $100, and may just be the answer for someone on a very tight budget, or for someone wanting a very inexpensive Phenom rig. Will the A780GXE/128M make the trip? Find out in the following pages.

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Many households go through numerous generations of internal computer hard drives ranging from 2.5 laptop to 3.5 desktop / server class hard drives in a futile attempt to remain up-to-date with storage requirements, but what do you do when you quickly need to retrieve your photos or documents you filed away on that old 80GB hard drive? Enter the Thermaltake BlacX SE USB hard drive dock for SATA hard drives.

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Apple's iPhone finally has a worthy rival. The T-Mobile G1, due to go on sale Oct. 22, is the first phone to run on Google's fun, flexible and functional open source Android mobile operating system. Although the G1 is not as sleek or as well integrated as the iPhone - after all, its hardware and software come from two different places - it actually out-performs the iPhone in several ways. But the G1 is held back by T-Mobile's less than ubiquitous 3G HSDPA network and no iTunes-like universal syncing software, both solvable problems. In spite of these current deficiencies, the G1 is arguably the most facile portable device ever devised. At least, that is, until the next Android phone with upgraded software arrives.

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The interesting thing is that we didn't have up to now GTX260 graphics card on test, probably because majority is already more interested for more affordable products from latest nVIDIA generation of graphics cards even though it is consisted, for now, from two products in total. Anyway, we got one GTX260 for testing and it is signed by manufacturer that is worldwide known - MSI.

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Who would've thought? Nikon, a decidedly still image capture company, was the first to design a D-SLR that takes high-definition video. Until now, no D-SLR could capture video of any type unlike point-and-shoot digicams which have taken clips for years. This breakthrough is pretty startling. One would've thought Sony or Panasonic-true video outfits-would have blazed this trail but it was venerable Nikon of 35mm film fame. Soon after the D90 was announced, archrival Canon unveiled the EOS 5D Mark II D-SLR which also takes HD clips. This monster, due late November, is a 21.1-megapixel full frame D-SLR while the D90 is only a 12.3MP APS-C sized sensor edition. In other words, the 5D Mark II is a completely different animal and costs many times more than the $999 USD D90. (Actually it's 2.7 times more as the new 5D is $2,699 for the body only). Still-on paper--this new Nikon has many things going for it: 12.3MP resolution, 4.5 frames per second burst shooting, 3200 ISO, a nice 3-inch LCD screen as well as the ability to record 1280 x 720-pixel HD video at 24 fps. Now let's see if the D90 is a winner.

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a clear flip-up front protective screen that is also touch-sensitive. Tap the touch cover and the Krave's actual LCD screen below reacts as if you prodded it directly. The concept's innovative in theory, yes. But instead of increasing functionality, this touch cover actually gets in the way, especially when you're trying to use the touch QWERTY thumbboard. All in all, we don't crave the Krave.

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Through all of the benchmarking and everyday use of the Xporter XT Boost I have been quite impressed. Even with the large capacity it is still a speedy drive. With a capacity of 32GB, the Xporter XT Boost can easily fit in your pocket and is a great replacement for that portable hard drive you might be lugging around.

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A while ago I took a look at the Super Talent Pico-C Gold 8Gb USB drive, today I've got another of the Super Talent Pico series USB drives, the Pico-D. It's a bit bigger than the Pico-C, but just as durable, portable and water resistant, and about the same performance. The outside casing is metal for protection, the USB drive part is plastic of course and swivels out of the casing to access it.

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Thermaltake is a familiar brand if you're looking for a new gaming chassis or you need to upgrade your cooling. In the past Thermaltake has had a couple of water-cooling items and kits but now with the PW 850i ProWater series they are trying to make water-cooling mainstream for anyone that already owns a Thermaltake chassis compatible with the PW850i or anyone interested in an affordable kit packed with the necessities to get your cooling set up even if you have never worked with water-cooling before.

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When you are in the middle of an intense battle in your favorite FPS game, do you ever wish you could change the sensitivity of the mouse as easily as changing weapons? The NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse allows you to do just that with the press of a button and also has a series of lights to indicate what speed has been selected. How does it stand up in both gaming and non-gaming situations? Read on to find out.

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THQ and 2XL has used this race as the setting for its latest release: Baja: Edge of Control. Released for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3, this game is designed with the racing enthusiast in mind. The game features 100 square miles of track with courses across Mexico and the Southwestern United States. The tracks range from rally courses to hill climbs to baja races.

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Kurtis and I got another chance to check out Mitsubishi's LaserVue DLP set in the early morning hours this Tuesday, and this time we were armed with some juicy, hand-picked HD goodness. Last time around, we only got to see content provided by Mitsubishi that was playing from a hard drive player hooked up to each set over HDMI. There were some great clips in this material, but we felt that we would be doing the Internets a terrible injustice to base our opinions solely on clips straight from the proverbial horse's mouth. If you missed our coverage of the LaserVue launch event from a couple weeks ago, that's where we got down with the specs and features of the new Mitsubishi set. This trip was all about picture quality.

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The EVGA 790i Ultra comes on a sexy Black PCB. With it's 3 PCI-E 16x slots that all run at 16x standing out from the board, it lets you know right out of the box that this is a serious graphics monster. The layout on the board is well thought out and from the moment you open the box it just screams at you, 'Feed me GPU's NOW!'

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Rocking up with the previously reviewed SideWinder X5 mouse, I was lucky enough to receive an X6 keyboard to complete the desktop of evil. This keyboard boasts a full backlight and letter illumination with a built-in dial to adjust the intensity. The coupe de grace, however, comes with the hot swappable numeric keypad module that can be changed up, left or right depending on your preference, or if you want to add more macros to the left hand side.

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These days it seems that cellular telephones are as commonplace as Starbucks, and motorists are communicating while behind the wheel. It shouldn't come as a surprise that twenty-four states currently enforce restrictions on cell phone use while driving. This is where the hands-free market has exploded, with numerous Bluetooth headsets making it to store shelves. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes the opportunity to test drive the Airlite 900 Bluetooth speakerphone accessory by Honeywell.

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ECS GF9300T-A Black Series is a socket 775 motherboard based on the latest chipset from nVidia, GeForce 9300, which features on-board video with a DirectX 10 engine and is the first nVidia chipset for the Intel platform to support Hybrid SLI. In this review we will compare the performance of GeForce 9300 to GeForce 7100, Intel G31, Intel G33 and Intel G45. Check it out.

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Today is the release day for the new NVIDIA GeForce 9 Series motherboards. We will be looking at the NVIDIA GeForce 9300 based MSI P7NGM Digital mATX motherboard, which aims to bridge the gap between onboard graphics and game playing frame rates, something that can come in handy if you're on a budget or perhaps looking to build a Multimedia PC such as an HTPC. It doesn't stop there though, as the NVIDIA GeForce 9300 gives the MSI P7NGM Digital more than one trick up it's sleeve.

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Catering to discerning consumers and demanding enthusiasts with all-aluminum construction, sleek designs, and superb features, Lian Li's newest PC-A70101 boasts a Hot Swap hard drive system, washable air filters, and a sexy black anodized aluminum exterior. But you're only as good as your last success, so let's find out if the A7010 can continue a winning trend.

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* Computer cooling is becoming a much more widespread topic with extra emphasis on silence in comparison to the past where this aspect of cooling was more or less disregarded in an attempt to produce maximum performance. The challenge that faces most manufacturers nowadays is the perfect combination between the two. Today at XSReviews, we have a whole series of Arctic Fans up for review. However, the question is will this latest series of fans be able to meet both the demands of performance and silence?

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Thermaltake, famed of their variety in air cooler selection, has just released their best performing CPU cooler: V14Pro. Claiming to have reached the highest cooling performance ever, the new V14Pro comes with the giant size 140mm fan, 6 copper heatpipes, and 98 extended copper fins. In this performance comparison, Benchmark Reviews tests the Thermaltake V14 Pro CPU cooler CL-P0471 against the best products available today.