Lian-Li LanCool Dragon Lord PC-K56W-B Case
Computer cases with enough features and cooling to please any gamer are rapidly dropping in price. Manufacturers are noticing the demand for affordable gaming rigs and reacting accordingly. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the LanCool PC-K56W-B Mid-Tower Computer Case. It is part of the recent LanCool Dragon Lord series that helps bring economic relief to gamers searching for the best case for the best price. LanCool is the gaming division of Lian Li, a very well known name in the computer case industry. Benchmark Reviews is here to pit the PC-K56W against other recent additions to the performance-case-at-a-low-price arena. Recently, we brought you articles about NZXT's line of such cases. Will LanCool be able to keep up with features such as their tool-free design? Follow along as we find out.
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XFX Radeon HD5770 Video Card HD-577A-ZN
OK, we're through playing nice with these new ATI 5xxx video cards. The corporate logo for XFX says: play hard. , so Benchmark reviews is going to take that motto to heart and show what this cards can really do. Almost every single competing card runs at higher than reference clock rates, and they all come that way from the factory. Every single card I compared the HD5770 to, when we reviewed the reference design from ATI, was factory overclocked. That's just the way it is with video cards built on mature GPU technology. Well, every ATI 5xxx card can easily be overclocked using the standard driver package from ATI, Catalyst Control Center, since it includes ATI Overdrive. So let's do it, let's compare apples to apples, and as a bonus, I'll throw in some CrossfireX results, too.
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Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 SAS Hard Drive ST3600057SS
Until SSDs can safely prove that they're a reliable long-term media for Enterprise storage, the Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interface owns the market share for server storage. Until Seagate launches their Solid State Drive counterpart, the 600GB Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 SAS Hard Drive ST3600057SS delivers safe and affordable high-capacity storage to data servers and Enterprise environments. The 4Gb/s FC or 6-Gb/s SAS 2.0 interface allows the perpendicular storage technology to deliver 15,000 RPM data bandwidth for an industry-leading 1.6-million-hour MTBF. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Seagate Cheetah 15K.7 SAS hard drive against a wide variety of storage solutions.
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Belkin Flip 2-port DVI USB KVM Switch F1DG102D
It's a common scenario for many of us these days: multiple computers, but no desk space for multiple monitors, keyboards, and mice. You might have a work machine and a play machine; or a home media server you access and control over the network, but it would really be nice if you had a monitor and keyboard sometimes, or maybe you just thought it would be fun to try one of those $200 nettop computers to see if it had any actual application. The solution is a KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) switch, and Benchmark Reviews looks at the Belkin Flip F1DG102D two-port DVI-USB KVWM switch to see how well it would work for you.
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XFX Radeon HD5750 Video Card HD-575X-ZNF7
The launch of Radeon HD57xx Juniper-GPU series cards is going very smoothly. ATI learned some hard lessons when they launched the HD4850 a couple years back. All the partners seem to have their cards ready for distribution this time, and there's no price gouging, due to the stable supply. This is doubly important for the HD57xx, since they're in the middle of the pack, performance-wise, and there are lots of competitors. XFX is one of the premium retail partners in the video card industry, although they're a relative newcomer to the ATI camp, and they've supplied Benchmark Reviews a model HD-575X-ZNF7 Radeon HD5750 to review. We recently looked at an early engineering sample of the HD5770, now we have the opportunity to take a look at a production version of the lower priced companion card, the XFX Radeon HD5750. We already know it's not going to challenge the HD5770, but can it beat out its real competition at the lower price point?
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ASUS P7P55D EVO P55 LGA1156 Motherboard
As we move into the holiday season, many are looking to Intel's new Lynnfield Desktop Platform for an upgrade or new build. Not surprising, there's plenty of good hardware on the market to choose from. In this article, Benchmark Reviews looks at the P7P55D EVO motherboard from ASUS. As part of their P55 lineup, the ASUS P7P55D EVO provides full support the for the new Lynnfield platform, along with several unique features. We'll explore these features in detail and find out how the EVO stacks up against other mainstream platforms.
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BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Bluetooth Handsfree Kit
Cell phone laws are rapidly becoming more and more restrictive. At the time of this writing, 36 states have some sort of cell phone restriction while using a motor vehicle. This up from 24 states just a year ago. The hands-free revolution is well under way. Some people even wear a bluetooth headset practically from the time they wake up in the morning. For those of us less fashionable than they are, handsfree kits are more our style. We are constantly looking for the best in quality, versatility, and function for our inevitable daily phone use. Enter the BlueAnt Supertooth 3 Handsfree Kit. Released last year, this device was an upgraded version of their hit Supertooth Light kit. Benchmark Reviews has tested the Supertooth 3 extensively over the past few weeks to see if it can meet the needs of the cell phone users, both casual and talkative.
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Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 Video Card 21162-00-50R
Microsoft Windows 7 will deliver DirectX 11 visual quality like never seen before, and ATI has endowed gamers with an unparalleled graphics solution in the Radeon HD 5870 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=373 Itemid=72). While the Radeon 5800-series is a monumental feat for AMD over the unprepared competition, not everyone can fit the absolute best video card available into their budget. Armed with 1440 shader cores, the 40nm Cypress GPU HD5850 is positioned to offer an excellent value for the upper mid-range and hits the sweet-spot for DirectX 11 gamers. In this article, Benchmark Reviews compares the Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5850 video card, model 21162-00-50R, against a cross-section of modern graphics accelerators.
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Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5870 Video Card 21161-00-50R
AMD has leap-frogged NVIDIA by launching the DirectX 11 compatible Radeon HD 5870 video card. Armed with 1600 shader cores, the 40nm Cypress GPU claims to push video game frame rates well-beyond what NVIDIA offers from their GeForce GTX 285 counterpart. While the list of DirectX 11 video games has just started to grow, with one of the first being a free Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) named Battle Forge. Perhaps ATI has created the perfect storm for their Radeon HD 5800-series by offering a price-competitive graphics card with several free games included or available. While NVIDIA toils away with CUDA and PhysX, ATI is busy delivering the next generation of hardware for the gaming community to enjoy. In this article, Benchmark Reviews compares the Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 video card, model 21161-00-50R, against a cross-section of modern graphics accelerators.
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ATI Radeon HD5770 Juniper GPU Video Card
Coming right on the heels of the HD5800 series launch, ATI brings us another batch of cards based on class-leading 40nm GPUs and GDDR5 memory. The new cards, Radeon HD5770 and HD5750, use the same architecture as the new HD5800 series, but ATI basically cut the Cypress chip in half to create a brand new video card with hardware specs somewhere between an HD4870 and an HD4890. If you're thinking that's not a bad place to be, but want to see some proof of how the HD5770 performs, Benchmark Reviews is pleased to offer you the results of our extensive testing.
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Belkin SOHO 4-Port DVI/USB KVM Switch F1DD104L
It's a common scenario for many of us these days: multiple computers, but no desk space for multiple monitors, keyboards, and mice. You might have a work machine and a play machine; or a home media server you access and control over the network, but it would really be nice if you had a monitor and keyboard sometimes, or maybe you just thought it would be fun to try one of those $200 nettop computers to see if it had any actual application. The solution is a KVM (keyboard/video/mouse) switch, and Benchmark Reviews looks at the Belkin SOHO F1DD104L four-port DVI-USB KVM switch to see how well it would work for you. This is a high-end switch with lots of extra features, so let's get started!
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Best CPU Cooler Performance LGA1366 Q3-2009
Overclockers and performance enthusiasts both share the same desire to cool their processor with the best possible hardware solution, but they each have different needs. The Benchmark Reviews test lab is rife with cooling products, ranging from silent low-profile to full-size tower coolers. The purpose of this series is to measure products for the best cooling performance in both stock and overclocked forms. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests a new collection of LGA1366 coolers using the Intel Core i7-920 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=254 Itemid=63) processor overclocked to 3.8 GHz @ 1.4V, allowing only the very best CPU coolers to endure our tests and reveal the most desirable heatsink for your computer system.
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nMediaPC 6000B HTPC Computer Case
More and more consumers these days seem to have some sort of home theater set up in which they incorporate a computer. Many people use a PC in their living room to watch slideshows of their photos, browse the web on their large HDTV displays, or use their pc as a fully functional Home Theater PC for movies, games, music, and etc. Along with this growing trend, the concept of using a HTPC style case for your living room computer is becoming more popular. People don't want some big ugly tower sitting in the middle of their living room, but would rather have a stylish looking case that can match the decor of their other home theater components, and offer many additional features useful to HTPC setups. Benchmark Reviews has the pleasure of checking out one of the HTPC cases offered by nMedia. This stylish and functional desktop ATX-style case boasts many features one would find useful in a HTPC setting such as a front LCD readout and front ports for things such as USB, Media Cards, Audio, eSATA, and Firewire, all in an attractive package that can easily match your other theater components.
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Buffalo WZR2-G300N Nfiniti Wireless-N Router
A Wireless router offers flexibility in that you can share your high speed broadband with a mixture of wired and wireless connectivity or just pure wireless connectivity without the need of the main computer being switched on. For a lot of people in the consumer market the different wireless specifications may not mean a lot (or anything) and some companies take advantage of this and continue selling G spec routers, but with broadband speed on the rise and also wireless integration into a lot more applications such as Gaming consoles, Media streamers, Handheld gaming, Mobile phones and Laptops / Notebooks / Netbooks it makes sense to ensure your wireless also stays up to speed with wireless N. As wireless networking has proliferated homes and offices around the world, and network vendors keep releasing with new devices on a regular basis, you now have so many options that it's hard to make a choice. The truth of the matter is, regardless of how many things a wireless router or access point can do, the two most important things about them are their speed and their range. Today Benchmark Reviews focuses on Buffalo Technology and their AirStation WZR2-G300N Wireless-N Nfiniti Router which has 2 modes, Wireless router or Access point.
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Cyber Acoustics AC-401 Gaming Headset
As we spend more time communicating through electronic means it's not surprising to see an increase of gadgets designed to improve the experience. When it comes to audio, most of the attention in consumer devices gets spent on the listening experience. 5.1 surround sound has become a standard, but what average user even has the capability to record in stereo? Yet the quantity of audio content produced by average users should not be ignored. Online videos, music, conferencing, chatting and gaming are on the rise. Cyber Acoustics is one company that has recognized a need for improved audio quality produced by the average user. The Cyber Acoustics AC-401 Circumaural Speech Recognition Stereo Headset uses 'Direct Noise Canceling Technology' to reduce background noise so you can be heard loud and clear. Here at Benchmark Reviews we bring out the scale to see how this headset weighs-in.
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Enhancing The Windows Media Center Experience
The proliferation of multimedia audio and video formats, including Blu-Ray, and an increasing array of TV and web based services have made the home theatre personal computer (HTPC) a powerful convergence device. With the imminent release of Microsoft's Windows 7 Operating System, Benchmark Reviews explores the evolution of the Windows HTPC Platform. We will also examine the efforts of a global community of users and premium developers, who have used Microsoft's product to showcase their skills and highlight their passion to make the PC a core component of the home entertainment setup.
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OCZ Agility-EX SLC SSD OCZSSD2-1AGTEX60G
OCZ has earned the pole position in the race for Solid State Drive consumer supremacy. Most of the OCZ SSD product line is sold at retail to enthusiast end-users, but the EX-series offers SLC construction and delivers premier performance to the Enterprise sector and an affordable price. Corporate environments offer vast potential for SSD technology by offering drive performance faster than SAS-based storage, and dramatically reducing heat output. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 60GB OCZ Agility EX SSD OCZSSD2-1AGTEX60G, and Indilinx-based SLC Solid State Drive.
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Professional Mechanical Keyboard Comparison
There are a lot of keyboards out there. Some keyboards are wireless; others offer lighting effects, programmable displays, and drivers that remap the keyboards to configurations optimized for specific applications and games. But if you're a serious typist - a professional who thinks that a keyboard's primary duty is to enable fast and accurate typing, and not to glow prettily or adjust your speaker volume or display the number of missiles left in your launcher, then you might be interested in a professional mechanical keyboard. Benchmark Reviews looks at a wide selection of available high quality keyboards to see which might be the best for you.
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Corsair P64 CMFSSD-64GBG2D RAID-0 Set
Enthusiasts are no stranger to RAID arrays. While server administrators depend on the redundancy of RAID-1 and other safe multi-drive configurations, performance enthusiasts are willing to risk it all for the promise of twice the normal performance from a striped RAID-0 array. To enjoy the added speed there must be two identical drives to which the data can split and write to each drive in stripes. Solid State Drive products already come at a premium over their hard drive counterparts, and most enthusiasts save up for just one SSD to help launch their computer system into hyper-speed. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests two 64GB Samsung-based Corsair P64 CMFSSD-64GBG2D MLC Solid State Drives configured in a RAID-0 array for top performance.
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Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 Motherboard: P55 vs X58
For computer enthusiasts, the last Intel milestone was the Core i7 processor launch that paralleled the X58-Express motherboard chipset launch back in November of 2008. Ten months later and well into September of 2009, Intel has returned with the P55-Express chipset for mainstream users who pair it with the new LGA1156 socket. On the outside little more than the processor socket and memory configuration has changed, replacing dual-channel for triple. PCI-Express now offers only one 16x lane instead of two, while the number of SATA and USB ports continues to give more expansion room than the average user might need. The consumer might not know what to expect when choosing between the two products, other than one is mainstream (P55) and the other is for extreme enthusiasts (X58). In this article, Benchmark Reviews directly compares the Intel Core i7-860 equipped Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 motherboard against the GA-EX58-UD4P with Intel Core i7-920. Testing a Core i7-860 against an i7-920 might not seem fair, and it's a little biased to compare P55 against X58, but the final outcome might just surprise you.
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Antec Two Hundred Mid-Tower Computer Case
PC gaming has never been an inexpensive proposition. The cost of processing power, for both CPU and GPU, may have gone down in cost per GigaFLOP, but the price tag to play the latest, coolest, PC game has stayed relatively constant. Fortunately, for those on a budget, things are looking up lately. One reason is that reasonably priced and even budget priced gaming cases are now available. Antec has just come to the rescue with their new Two Hundred model mid-tower gaming case. Benchmark Reviews has already shown you Antec's high end offerings, now take a look at what you might have to give up by going the budget route for your gaming rig chassis, and surprisingly what you might gain. The Two Hundred has some new features that could convince you to spend less rather than more on your next gaming case.
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Seagate Interview: SSD and Enterprise Storage
Benchmark Reviews has demonstrated a voracious appetite for high-speed storage technologies over the past few years, primarily fueled by our research and testing with Solid State Drive (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=367 Itemid=60) products. In this article Benchmark Reviews Executive Editor Olin Coles submitted several industry-specific questions directly to storage expert David Szabados, the Senior PR Manager responsible for enterprise storage, security, and future emerging storage technologies at Seagate Technology. David took time out of his busy schedule in the middle of the Seagate Barracuda XT 6Gbps SATA-III HDD (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=369 Itemid=46) product launch to directly answer many of the questions we asked. Benchmark Reviews asked Seagate questions that cover everything from increasing spindle speeds and Heat Assisted Magnetic Recording to offering SSD products, which all help shape this technology interview into an extremely rare opportunity for our readers to learn of upcoming and developmental product plans directly from the manufacturer.
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Seagate Barracuda XT 6Gbps SATA-III HDD Preview
On 21 September 2009 Seagate Technology will be the first and only manufacturer to offer a SATA-III 6Gbps hard drive product with the large 64MB cache buffer as the 2TB Barracuda XT ST32000641AS is unveiled. Both combined improvements to burst rate and sustained bandwidth will mark a substantial improvement to the design of Hard Disk Drive (HDD) storage products, and the new technology is expected to give Solid State Drive (SSD) components some serious competition. The Seagate Barracuda XT series is designed for performance enthusiasts such as gamers, as well as small server systems. Additional enthusiast tools, such as the free Seagate SeaTools software, allow users to custom-define firmware parameters to enable performance features such as 'Short Stroke' and noise reduction. In this preview article, Benchmark Reviews reveals some of the improvements introduced with the Seagate Barracuda XT 6Gbps SATA-III ST32000641AS hard drive.
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Intel DP55KG Extreme Series P55 Motherboard
Benchmark Reviews had the opportunity to review and launch two new Lynnfield processors from Intel: the Core i5-750 and the Core i7-870. While these were the stars of the launch, it wouldn't be a complete platform without the motherboard. Released in parallel with the two processors, is the Intel P55 Express Chipset. In this review, we'll examine the new chipset in detail and take a closer look at Intel's flagship DP55KG Extreme Series Motherboard.
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CM Storm Sentinel Advance Laser Gaming Mouse
If you have ever looked into buying a powerful gaming or performance computer case, you have heard of Cooler Master. They are a household name in the power computing world. Now they are making a name for themselves with a new division focused on gaming. CM Storm has built up a lot of hype over their new mouse, the CM Storm Sentinel Advance Laser Gaming Mouse. It rocks the gaming mouse arena with a twin Doppler laser and up to 5600 dpi. Benchmark Reviews is bringing you the latest information about the CM Storm Sentinel Advance SGM-6000-KLLW1-GP. A lot of gaming mice have been hitting the market recently, and CM Storm is looking to pull into the forefront with a completely customizable eight button laser mouse.
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Microsoft LifeCam VX-5500 Webcam E4C-00001
The LifeCam VX-5500 sits near the top of Microsoft's web cam offerings yet the E4C-00001 kit checks in at a very reasonable price point. It has some great features including noise cancelling, echo cancelling, 1.3MP HD picture quality, and auto-adjustment for low light conditions -all in a compact package clearly directed toward the mobile user. Benchmark Reviews took a look at the VX-5000 a few months ago, now we'll check out the VX-5500 and see if it performs as well as this mobile warrior hopes.
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MSI Wind Top AE2010 AIO Desktop System
Desktop computers are making a resurgence, and have exploited the compact nature of newer technology to provide the best of both worlds. Netbooks are the popular item for travelers, but they don't get the job done for full time workers and students. Notebooks are nice, and meet halfway, but have their own limits too. Behold the nettop. It's a compact desktop computer with a notebook profile. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the MSI Wind Top AE2010-02SUS All-In-One touch screen desktop computer against an Intel Atom-equipped ASUS Eee PC netbook, Core 2 Duo notebook, and NVIDIA ION desktop system.
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NORCO RPC-4020 4U Rackmount Server Case
In this article, Benchmark Reviews will examine the Norco RPC-4020 4U rack mount server case. This case supports twenty data drives, plus a separate OS drive, and slim floppy and optical drives. With the density of hard drives available today that means you can stuff 42 Terabytes worth of data into a case roughly the size of a full-tower desktop case. If you're looking for a high density storage case, you'll be doing yourself a disservice not to check out this case.
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Intel Core i7-870 Processor BX80605I7870
When it launched last year, the Core i7 platform redefined Intel's high-end processor segment. Unfortunately, the platform was also accompanied by high-end prices. As such, it has seen only a minimal share of the desktop market. However, Intel has released a new platform that it claims will bring the performance of Nehalem to mainstream price points. Referred to as Lynnfield, the new platform shares its core microarchitecture with the i7-900 series, but introduces a completely new chipset and socket design. This means that not only will we see new processors, but new motherboards as well. Benchmark Reviews has been testing several of these new items and will be covering the launch in detail over the next few days. In this article, we examine the Intel Core i7-870 Quad Core Processor model BX80605I7870.
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Intel Core i5-750 Processor BX80605I5750
When it launched last year, the Core i7 platform redefined Intel's high-end processor segment. Unfortunately, the platform was also accompanied by high-end prices and, as such, has seen only a minimal share of the desktop market. Today, however, Intel is releasing a new platform that it claims will bring the performance of Nehalem to mainstream price points. Referred to as Lynnfield, the new platform shares its core microarchitecture with the i7-900 series, but introduces a completely new chipset and socket design. This means that not only will we see new processors, but new motherboards as well. Benchmark Reviews has been testing several of these new items and will be covering the launch in detail over the next few days. In this article, we examine the Intel Core i5-750 Quad Core Processor model BX80605I5750.
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Corsair X256 CMFSSD-256D1 MLC SSD
The competition among Solid State Drive manufacturers is reminiscent of the video card wars between AMD and NVIDIA a few years ago. The invention of new controller technology has slowed somewhat, while each company races to combine high-speed NAND with custom firmware tweaks to produce the fastest SSD speeds possible. The Indilinx Barefoot controller has exploited a dominant hold over the consumer SSD market during the past several months, and 'overclocked' Solid State Drive products are beginning to replace 'new' product designs. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the fastest MLC SSD we've discovered to-date: the 256GB eXtreme-edition Corsair X256 CMFSSD-256D1.
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ASUS GeForce GTX 285 Matrix Video Card
It's OK to arrive fashionably late to a party, as long as you have something to add. ASUS has been offering their MATRIX branded video cards to the public well after the initial buzz has died down, for each GPU launch. The 9800GT and 4870 MATRIXcards were released in 2008, followed by the GTX260 MATRIX in early 2009. ASUS now releases the GTX285 MATRIX featuring the fastest single GPU available, supplied by NVIDIA. Benchmark Reviews looked at the ASUS ENGTX285 TOP back in January, which drew heavily from the NVIDIA reference design. Let's take a closer look at how they've stretched the limits on their latest offering, which is anything BUT a standard design.
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Warpia Wireless USB Display Adapter SWP100
If you have ever tried to share vacation pictures or videos with friends and family then you know the 4 square inch screen on your digital camera just will not do the job. Don't like the idea of huddling around you computer or laptop to share these precious moments? Then the Warpia Wireless USB Display Adapter kit is the perfect solution. The folks at Warpia provide everything needed to view PC content wirelessly on TV's, monitors or projectors from distances up to 30 feet. Utilizing a VGA or HDMI cable to connect your TV, monitor or projector to the Video Adapter you will be enjoying 720p HD video in a few short minutes. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the wireless graphics performance of the Warpia Wireless USB Display Adapter SWP100.
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Kingston SSDNow V+ Series 64GB SSD SNV225-S2
Early on in their debut, Solid State Drives were planned as included equipment on new computers coming from tier one manufacturers such as Dell, HP, and Apple. In one way or another they made good on their word, but the inflated price for these premium options made SSDs a distant reality. This situation created the perfect condition for a enthusiastic upgrade market. Not surprisingly, manufacturers went after the individual consumer after losing traction with mass system builders, and upgrade kits became the obvious solution for many enthusiasts. Kingston is well known for manufacturing their own memory products, but when it came to the new SSD technology they turned to proven sources such as Samsung. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the Kingston SSDNow V+ Series 64GB SATA-II MLC SSD SNV225-S2/64GB.
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Wacom Bamboo Fun Digital Tablet CTE450K
The mouse has become the standard method of navigating graphical user interfaces, but it leaves something to be desired when you want more free-form control of your cursor. The pen tablet provides the the control that a regular mouse lacks. The Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet is meant to be an introductory foray into the world of pen tablets, featuring a 5.8 x 3.7 active area, 512 levels of pressure sensitivity, battery-less pen and mouse, 4 function buttons and a scroll pad. In this article Benchmark Reviews will test how well the Wacom Bamboo Fun Tablet CTE450K holds up in Photoshop Elements.
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Panasonic UJ-875A Slim Optical Drive
Benchmark Reviews recently reviewed the SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06B Case, and supplied with that product was the SST-SOD01 kit. As was mentioned in that review, the case supports only slim optical drives. The SST-SOD01 slim drive kit we received is actually the Panasonic UJ-875A Slim Optical Drive manufactured for SilverStone. Since many of you will undoubtedly be looking to purchase the SUGO SG06 case or another small form factor case, you will need a slim optical drive. Benchmark Reviews offers for your consideration the Panasonic UJ-875A 8X DVD +/- RW Slot Loading Slim Optical Drive with SATA interface and DVD-Burner capabilities.
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Cooler Master SNA 95 RP-095-D19A-A1
The purpose is simple: offer a universal notebook adapter with widespread compatability with nearly all notebook computers in use today. It's the sort of product that fits in nicely on store shelves at your local electronics store or computer repair shop. The Cooler Master SNA 95, which stands for Slim Notebook Adapter and totals 95W of nominal output power, includes everything needed inside one small kit. The RP-095-D19A-A1 model comes with eight different charger tips to ensure compatability with the majority of popular laptop systems, and a 1A USB port to rapid-charge connected devices. Benchmark Reviews details the features and functionality behind the Cooler Master SNA 95 universal slim notebook adapter.
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Razer Arctosa USB Gaming Keyboard
The Arctosa Gaming Keyboard is one of Razer's entry-level enthusiast peripherals to help gamers get into the world of high-end keyboards. It is a keyboard with many of the advanced features that you expect on a gaming keyboard, but with a price that wont break the bank. With such features as fully programmable macro keys and anti-ghosting technology, just to name a few. Benchmark Reviews is here to test this keyboard and its many features to discover whether it lives up to the Razer name, or if it is just another regular old keyboard with some fancy logos and shiny buttons on it.
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NZXT Sentry 2 Touchscreen Fan Controller
Benchmark Reviews has the pleasure of testing NZXT's newest fan control: the Sentry 2 Touchscreen Fan Controller. A step up from the Sentry 1 and a worthy stable mate for the Sentry LX (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=340 Itemid=58). The Sentry 2 is a different approach to the same problem. A more elegant solution to a problem that has plagued computer enthusiasts since their earliest days; fan noise. With it's touchscreen controls it's a definite step in the right direction above and beyond it's predecessor the Sentry 1, the Sentry 2 is simplicity itself. Taking up only half the space of the Sentry LX you might think the NZXT Sentry 2 has only half the features or capabilities but you'd be wrong. Gone are the buttons bells and whistles but what's left is the best of the LX with a touchscreen to make those core features even better and easier to use with some added benefits as well.
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Cooler Master Sileo 500 Computer Case
Boasting sound-dampening foam, anti-vibration HDD mounts, and two silent-running 800RPM 120mm fans, the Sileo 500 is an interesting break from Cooler Master's usual chassis design. A long-time manufacturer of high-end gaming cases, it appears Cooler Master is now adding silent computing to their arsenal. Benchmark Review will take a closer look at the RC-500-KKR3-GP model and finds out if the Sileo 500 worthy of the name and your money.
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SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06B mini-ITX Case
Smaller, quieter, greener. These are the new key words of the industry. Computer components are reducing their size and their footprint. The next wave of computer enthusiasts isn't looking for that full tower monster case with LED lighting. They want sleek and slim, lean and trim. Benchmark Reviews takes a look today at the SilverStone SUGO SST-SG06B mini-ITX case. When you read mini-ITX, I know what you're thinking. Another HTPC case, nice and small, but useless for any type of CPU or GPU intensive activity. And that's where SilverStone breaks the trend. The case comes stock with a 300W power supply and enough room for a 9 long video card. Could this be the answer to those of us yearning for a PC that meets our computing needs as well as our space and aesthetic needs? Follow along as we delve deeper to find out.
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Crucial M225 128GB SATA-II SSD CT128M225
Until 2009, Solid State Drive (SSD) popularity was only growing in the elite enthusiast circles. Then along comes the Indilinx Barefoot chip, which quickly became the backbone SSD controller for over a dozen different products. Crucial, being The Memory Experts that they are, have returned to the market with their second SSD product. By most accounts, this isn't par for the course when you consider how often the competition reveals a new product line. Equipped with the test-proven Indilinx Barefoot controller and 64MB of DRAM buffer, Crucial is insured that the M225-series will deliver outstanding performance. Benchmark Reviews tests the bandwidth speed and IOPS performance for the Crucial M225 128GB SATA-II SSD CT128M225 against a large contingent of desktop storage products in this article.
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nMediaPC HTPC 8000 Wooden Media Center Case
Home Theater Personal Computers, or HTPCs as enthusiasts abbreviate them, may soon once again be all the craze. Very recently the ultra-compact NVIDIA ION platform offered up HD video and Blu-Ray content over native HDMI, and leaves the entertainment center with plenty of room left over for other components. But for those wanting just a little more, such as discrete graphics for intense CrossFire or SLI gaming, you'll need an HTPC case with full-size ATX motherboard compatibility. nMediaPC knows there's still a market for home theater PC enthusiasts, which is why the HTPC-8000 case was designed. A stained-wood case with old-time looks is modern enough to deliver LCD-based programmable Media Center Edition (MCE) display. Benchmark Reviews explores the nMedia HTPC-8000 media center computer case and delivers the verdict on HTPCs.
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AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE CPU HDZ965FBGIBOX
Back in April, Benchmark Reviews covered the release of AMD's flagship quad-core processor, the Phenom II X4 955 BE. Nearly four months later, we have that opportunity once again. Today, we look at the new king of the mountain over at the AMD, the Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition processor model HDZ965FBGIBOX. Coming in at 3.4GHz, it not only bests the previous flagship model by 200Mhz, but also happens to be the highest clocked CPU on the market. In today's review, we find out how well that extra clockspeed translates to performance.
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Patriot Corza Network Storage Server PCZ35SNAS2
Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems have found their way into homes just as they did with the office space years ago. Prices for NAS server products have dropped to the point where it's more expensive to buy the drive that goes in them than the actual storage device itself. Patriot, a company based around memory technologies, has recently began to sell the Patriot Corza Network Storage Server PCZ35SNAS2 to retailers for under $100. This dual-bay SATA NAS can accommodate either SSD or hard disk storage media, and offers RAID-0/1/JBOD configurations over a gigabit Ethernet network connection. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the transfer speeds for the Patriot Corza NAS against some of the biggest names in the industry, and determines just how much value you can get from this network storage appliance.
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Best CPU Cooler Performance LGA1366 Q2-2009
Overclockers and performance enthusiasts share the same desire to cool their processor with the best possible hardware solution. Benchmark Reviews first tested the cooling performance on the Intel Core i7 platform in the Best CPU Cooler Performance LGA1366 - Q1 2009 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=285 Itemid=62) article, which discovered the now-famous Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=316 Itemid=62). With such a dominant hold on cooling performance, the CPU cooler industry has been slow to respond with even better products. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests a new collection of products in the Best CPU Cooler Performance LGA1366 Q2 - 2009.
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OCZ Vertex Turbo MLC SATA SSD OCZSSD2-1VTXT120G
With generation 3 guidelines for the 6.0 GBps SATA interface already being used in prototype motherboards for show at the not-so-distant 2010 CES in January, it's understandable to see the speeds of Solid State Drive products increase so quickly with each new model. The Indilinx Barefoot controller has become the backbone chip for over a dozen different SSD models, first introduced in the OCZ Vertex SSD (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=299 Itemid=60), and now make a return appearance in the OCZ Vertex Turbo SSD series. Identical to the popular OCZ Vertex SSD in every aspect except NAND selection, the Vertex Turbo SSD series offers the same Indilinx 'Barefoot' controller and 64MB of DRAM buffer, but now boasts ultra-fast 270/200 MBps read and write speeds. Benchmark Reviews tests the reaction time and bandwidth performance for the 120GB OCZ Vertex Turbo SSD OCZSSD2-1VTXT120G model against over two dozen other storage products in this article.
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Using Dual-Monitors to Optimize Productivity
Historically most people couldn't justify the expense of a dual-monitor setup in spite of the productivity gains multiple screens afford. So most people were relegated to drooling over the possibility while watching movies like Swordfish (possibly the most eye popping multi-monitor setup ever) or the 2008 remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still which reflects not only the broad adoption of multi-display configurations, but also demonstrates currently available next generation display technologies like Microsoft's Surface (http://www.microsoft.com/surface/Default.aspx) . Today, even entry level PC's as well as nearly all laptops have graphics cards capable of multi-monitor support - so at Benchmark Reviews we decided to address the most important questions: Will you really be more Productive? , What do you need to know? , and What will it cost? . Benchmark Reviews will answer all of these questions in-depth in this article on Using Dual-Monitors to Optimize Productivity.
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WD VelociRaptor 300GB SATA HDD WD3000HLFS
Considering the state of the global economy, along with local recession and unemployment, performance computer builders have had to make some difficult decisions. It's not easy to convince enthusiasts that they should invest their money in mechanical hard disk products in the age of Solid State Drives, especially when performance favors SSD's almost two-fold. But the cost of high-performance HDDs has remained very affordable, and the capacity is ever-expanding. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 10,000 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive against a large field of high-performance storage solutions.
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MSI N275GTX Twin Frozr OC Video Card
The graphics card market is pretty much a two man slugfest at the moment. ATI and NVIDIA trade blows at irregular intervals in a brutal game of strategy. The GeForce GTX 275 was a punch that NVIDIA held in reserve, just waiting for ATI to release their HD4890 card. When launch day came for ATI, lo and behold, NVIDIA had the GTX 275 up their sleeve, ready for production. Essentially, the GTX 275 combines the GPU of the GTX 285 with the memory architecture of the GTX 260 with performance and pricing that neatly slots between the two. MSI is an established player in the graphics card market, and their take on the GTX 275 pulls no punches. They put together a unique design, featuring twin PWM fans and a 5-heatpipe cooler, for their N275GTX Twin Frozr OC Edition, and one look should tell you that they are serious about performance. Benchmark Reviews is pleased to offer you a detailed, fact-filled look at one of the products at the heart of the sweet spot for gaming graphics.
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OCZ Agility MLC SSD OCZSSD2-1AGT120G
Benchmark Reviews has seen Solid State Drive products from every angle, and while SSDs have overtaken hard drive products in terms of speed, there still remains the giant task of beating HDDs in price. That's exactly why OCZ has created the Agility Solid State Drive. Identical to the popular OCZ Vertex SSD (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=299 Itemid=60) in every aspect except NAND selection, the Agility SSD series offers the same Indilinx 'Barefoot' controller and 64MB of DRAM buffer allowing a fast 230 MBps read speed. Benchmark Reviews tests the reaction time and bandwidth performance for the 120GB Agility OCZSSD2-1AGT120G model against over two dozen other storage products in this article.
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ASUS Xonar HDAV1.3 Slim Sound Card
You don't have to be an audiophile to appreciate the enhanced surround sound effects from Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio found on most Blu-ray Disc movie discs over the standard Dolby Digital or DTS formats found on standard DVD movie discs. The lossless audio compression formats and/or the two extra channels of sound output really adds a significant amount of realism to the whole movie watching experience. The problem is most HTPC owners don't have the ability to experience these enhanced formats due to a lack of sound cards on the market that can support these formats. Benchmarkreviews has the ASUS Xonar HDAV 1.3 Slim sound card that does just that. Benchmark Reviews have put it through a series of tests and have determined whether HTPC owners can rejoice or not.
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Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 Motherboard
Last month, we took a look at AMD's new mainstream processor: the Athlon II 250 (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=323 Itemid=63). We were impressed with both performance and cost. Today, Benchmark Reviews looks at an equally impressive motherboard: the Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P. Based on AMD's 770 series chipset, the MA770T-UD3P is one of the first mainstream motherboards to offer full support for AM3 processors and DDR3 memory. Throw in Gigabyte's Ultra Durable 3 manufacturing process and price tag of only $80, and it's easy to see why this board is quickly becoming a budget-build favorite.
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Sunbeam SATA-IDE-USB Adapter
If you have a lot of spare hard drives laying around that you want to see if they work and what they contain, but dont want to take the effort to install them in your desktop, Sunbeamtech has a solution for you. This device is also a perfect fit for an IT person to use as a data recovery tool. The device I am referring to is the SATA and IDE to USB Adapter. Benchmark Reviews is pleased to give you a closer look at this device, and just what we can expect from a tool like this. It boasts USB 2.0 high-speed tranfer rates, and the ability to access files on drives both 2.5 and 3.5 in size. So, if you are an IT professional, or just someone who has a lot of spare drives laying around that you want to see what is on them, check out this product from Sunbeamtech, and the review from Benchmark Reviews.
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NZXT Sentry LX SEN-001LX Digital Fan Controller
With multiple core CPUs, multi-GPU video graphics sub-systems and hotter than hot mainboard north and southbridge chipsets it becomes necessary for most gaming computers to have more and more fans. With the fans comes noise. Of course there's water cooling, but not everyone is capable or even brave enough to give that a try. So what do you do? Well one option is to use a fan speed controller. There are many fan controllers available but today Benchmark Reviews will look specifically at the NZXT SEN-001LX Sentry LX aluminum digital dual-bay fan controller.
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Intel BOXD945GCLF2D Atom 330 mITX Motherboard
For years, the focus on computers has been on faster, better performing systems. Recently, however, with rising energy costs and more environmentally conscious consumers, computer manufacturers have turned to designing machines that use less energy, cost less, and still have many of the advantages of modern computer systems. In the realm of mobile and energy efficient computing, two real competitors have recently emerged. Via, with their Nano chipsets named after biblical references, has dominated the field until recently; at least as far as pure statistic performance is concerned. Intel is the other name, and with that name they have competed quite fiercely for the lion's share of the mobile and ultra-economic computing market. But name is all they had to go on, since their products, the Atom series, have fallen short of the standard set by Via. With the release of Intel's newest Atom, though, that has all changed. Benchmark Reviews is bringing you the down and dirty on the first ever dual core processor made specifically to combine improved performance with low energy consumption as we test the Intel BOXD945GCLF2D Atom 330 Intel 945GC Mini-ITX Motherboard/CPU combo kit.
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ASUS My Cinema EHD3-100 HDTV/FM Tuner
Those who want to watch over the air TV at all must either purchase a TV with an ATSC tuner installed or purchase one of the conversion boxes out there. For the HTPC crowd, it means that their tuner card must support ATSC just the same. Most cards out there are going to produce video results that are exactly the same, especially considering the signal and quality are more a factor of antenna reception than card quality. So, what's to make someone decide on one TV tuner over another? The ASUS My Cinema-EHD3-100 answers this question by going one step further than most cards out there to be your all-in-one media center card. It fully supports the ATSC and QAM digital TV specifications allowing you to access digital TV in high definition resolution. It also fully supports analog NTSC TV, analog video and radio. Plus, its on-board mpeg-2 encoder chip helps on-the-fly analog video recording. Is the My Cinema-EHD3-100 your HTPC answer? Benchmark Reviews will fill you in!
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ASRock Nettop ION 330 AMCP7A-ION HTPC
NVIDIA Recently unveiled their ION platform, which combines a GeForce 9400m GPU to the Intel Atom mobile processor. The synergistic effect of GeForce and Atom processors have combined to deliver true high-definition performance beyond any mobile platform before it, allowing more range from 'Netbook' and 'Nettop' products. A dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom N330 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU are packaged onto a Mini-ITX DDR2 AMCP7A-ION motherboard to create the ASRock ION, and ultra-efficient Nettop system. Delivering an compact HTPC or desktop computer alternative with native HDMI high-definition playback capability and powerful computing power isn't easy, and Benchmark Reviews discovers how well the ASRock Nettop ION 330 performs against mobile competitors using the Windows 7 Operating System.
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QNAP TS-809 Pro 8-Bay SATA NAS
Not every enterprise needs a file server to fit their needs; sometimes storage is the primary concern. Network Attached Storage (NAS) servers have helped corporate IT professionals delivery massive storage capacity at a price more in touch with a basic workstation. QNAP, a pioneer in NAS products, is the first to offer a an unmatched level of network storage. The QNAP TS-809 Pro allows up to eight SATA drives to be installed in RAID-0/1/5/6/5+Spare, and JBOD; all featuring iSCSI target services and AES 256-bit volume-based encryption. The 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of DDR2 memory allow the dual Gigabit Ethernet network adapters to move data at speeds most network products only dream of. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests bandwidth performance on the QNAP TS-809 Pro against some of the fastest NAS products available.
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Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC Computer Case
Benchmark Reviews recently called on the Antec ISK300-65 Mini-ITX HTPC computer case to complete our NVIDIA ION Home Theater PC project. The lightweight mITX case offers a 65W power supply and room for a slim optical drive and 2.5 SSD or HDD. The Antec ISK300 fits two 80mm fans along the side, which help exhaust heated air out of the enclosure. Enthusiast can stand the ISK300 case upright, allowing this HTPC enclosure to fit nicely beside other entertainment center electronics.
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ZOTAC IONITX-A-U Atom N330 WiFi N Motherboard Kit
We all want more for less. That's why enthusiasts overclock, and that's why we build HTPCs. The PlayStation 3 game console has sold millions of units because of its ability to delivery realistic video game performance, but Sony has sold more units because of the PS3's Blu-ray Disc player capability than any other factor. Bringing personal computer technology into the home theater environment has just come one step closer, thanks to the NVIDIA ION platform. The synergistic effect of an NVIDIA GeForce 9400M and the dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom process have delivered true high-definition performance beyond any HTPC before it. The Zotac IONITX-A-U packages the Atom N330 CPU and 9400M GPU on a Mini-ITX DDR2 motherboard. Benchmark Reviews discovers how nice it is to have native HDMI connectivity from the HTPC into the HDTV in this article.
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ASUS Maximus II Gene mATX Motherboard
ASUS has some tough shoes to fill. Fortunately, they're familiar shoes; their own, in fact. A long string of high performance motherboards that got adopted simultaneously by the enthusiast and gaming sets, led ASUS to create a specialty brand segment they call Republic of Gamers . The ROG Creed goes like this: The Republic of Gamers is committed to delivering the most innovative and best performing PC solutions to enhance the gaming experience of power users. That's a tall order, especially in the competitive PC component market where today's news is already old news. One of the newest members of this Republic is the Maximus II GENE, part of a new group of small form factor components that give nothing away in performance to their larger brethren. Benchmark Reviews is pleased to review this latest offering, based on the Intel P45 and ICH10R, and we put it through the wringer against a well known full ATX-size reference board. The new ASUS Maximus II Gene motherboard goes by the tagline: Mini Size, Max Mobility. You have to take these marketing lines with a grain of salt, because taken at face value, you might expect a mini-ITX board. Instead we have a micro-ATX (uATX) board that squeezes almost every last feature from its feature-rich ROG brother into the slightly smaller format. A more accurate description might be: Micro Size, Max Performance. Let's dive in and take a look at what ASUS calls: A new band of ROG heroes, the GENE squad.
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Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P DDR2 790X AMD Motherboard
Along with AMD's launch of the Phenom II and Athlon II processor families this year, we've also witnessed a steady shift in focus from their AM2+/DDR2 platform to a full AM3/DDR3 platform. The good news is that these newer AM3 processors support both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, allowing consumers to upgrade without replacing their whole system. Still, that leaves many wondering if they're missing out by not making the jump to DDR3 memory. To help answer that question, today Benchmark Reviews puts Gigabyte's DDR2-based MA790X-UD4P motherboard to the test.
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QNAP TS-119 Gigabit NAS Server
If you've ever visited Benchmark Reviews in the past, you've probably noticed that we've tested a large collection of NAS products (index.php?option=com_content task=blogcategory am p;id=13 Itemid=70). At the same time, you might have noticed how many of these products aren't really geared towards home users needing just the basics. That's where the QNAP TS-119 comes in handy. Designed to hold a single SATA drive (HDD or SSD), the TS-119 can deliver all the great features of larger more expensive NAS products. The latest Enterprise-level NAS servers feature iSCSI expansion, RAID redundancy, and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and surprisingly the TS-119 does these things too, but without the expensive price tag. How can a single-drive NAS offer RAID you ask? In this article Benchmark Reviews takes the QNAP TS-119 through a tough set of performance tests while we outline the Turbo NAS functions and features.
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Lilliput EB701Y 7-Inch Touchscreen LCD Monitor
When putting together a mobile PC, the monitor is a big consideration. For use in the car, a touchscreen monitor is especially important. Lilliput Electronics Co. has dedicated itself to solving our mobile PC monitor dilemmas by providing flexible touchscreen monitors. The screens are the perfect size for car computing, or for any number of other uses. The Lilliput EBY701-NP/C/T model 7-Inch Touchscreen Monitor is the company's newest 7 monitor and boasts a new adjustable LED backlight design for a crisper, clearer picture, especially in sunlight. Benchmark Reviews is ready to bring you all the information you need to know about this monitor in order to make a decision about it for your mobile computing needs.
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