Friday Morning Roundup
The latest happenings from around the web - March 18th, 2011
Systems
- MSI CX620 3D Laptop @ tbreak
- MSI GX660R Gaming Laptop @ Hardware Heaven
- Google Cr-48 Chrome OS Notebook @ Benchmark Reviews
Motherboard
- ASUS E35M1-I DELUXE @ Planet3DNow
- GIGABYTE G1-Killer Assassin X58 LGA1366 Gaming Motherboard @ Futurelooks
Memory
- Kingston HyperX PC3-2133 CL9 @ XSReview
- G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-2133 8GB RAM @ Overclockers Club
Video/Monitor
- Club3D HD 6950 1GB @ CDRInfo
- Lucid Virtu and Intel Quick Sync: Pairing GPUs @ Hot Hardware
- AMD HD 6990 @ tbreak
Audio/Media
- Corsair SP2200 2.1 Speaker System @ Overclockers Club
- Corsair SP2200 2.1 PC Gaming Sound System @ Metku
- RaidSonic IB-MP3011HW-B HD Network Media Player @ RWLabs
Cases/Modding/PSU
- PC Power & Cooling Silencer 760 W Power Supply @ Hardware Secrets
- 3R System L-1200 V.REX Case @ Hardware Secrets
- Cooler Master GX-450W PSU @ BayReviews
- WORLD'S FIRST REVIEW: In Win Buc Computer Case @ Tweaknews
- ADATA HM Series 650W Power Supply @ Kitguru
Cooling
- Noctua NH-C14 CPU Cooler @ OverclockersHQ
- Xigmatek Aegir SD 128264 CPU Cooler @ HiTechLegion
- Lamptron FC Touch Fan Controller @ Techgage
- GPU Universal Water Block Roundup @ Pureoverclock
- ThermoLab Trinity Heatsink @ Ninjalane
- Antec Kأ¼hler H2O 620 CPU Cooler @ Madshrimps
Other
- Intel's 510 Series solid-state drive @ Tech Report
- Razer Naga Epic MMO Gaming Mouse @ Madshrimps
- Steelseries SHIFT Gaming Keyboard @ Funkykit
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Download of the Day: SpeedFan 4.43
Our Download of the Day today is SpeedFan 4.43.
SpeedFan is a program that monitors voltages, fan speeds and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. SpeedFan can even access S.M.A.R.T. info and show hard disk temperatures.
SpeedFan supports SCSI disks too. SpeedFan can even change the FSB on some hardware (but this should be considered a bonus feature).
SpeedFan can access digital temperature sensors and can change fan speeds accordingly, thus reducing noise.
SpeedFan can find almost any hardware monitor chip connected to the 2-wire SMBus (System Management Bus (trademark belonging to SMIF, Inc.), a subset of the I2C protocol) and works fine with Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP and Windows Vista. It works with Windows 64 bit too.
SpeedFan can handle:
آ• almost any number of South Bridges
آ• almost any number of hardware monitor chips
آ• almost any number of hard disks
آ• almost any number of temperature readings
آ• almost any number of voltage readings
آ• almost any number of fan speed readings
آ• almost any number of PWMs
The latest version includes the following changes:
Changes in Version 4.43
- restored full nVidia video card support
- hard disk finding now uses more stringent rules that lead to a much faster program startup
- fixed configuration issues with multiple nVidia video cards on the same system
- greatly improved User Interface responsiveness
- administrator privileges are now required and enforced to run SpeedFan
- added full support for Nuvoton W83627DHG-P, including PWM control
- added full support for Nuvoton NCT6776F, including PWM control
- added full support for Fintek F71808E, including PWM control
- added full support for Fintek F71809, including PWM control
- added full support for ITE IT8728F, including PWM control
- added full support for EMC2113, including PWM control
- added full support for Nuvoton W83L771
- added full PWM control for ITE IT8721F
- added support for several JEDEC JC 42.4 compliant sensors
- fully verified ITE IT8721F fan reading and control
- improved support for ACPI Thermal Zone temperatures reporting
- fixed Nuvoton W83667HG PWM MODE advanced settings
- fixed Nuvoton W83667HG-B PWM MODE advanced settings
- fixed Nuvoton W83677HG-I PWM reading
- fixed Winbond W83791D and Winbond W83792D TEMP2 and TEMP3 readings
- fixed Nuvoton W83627DHG, W83627EHF and W83667HG PWM TYPE settings
- fixed ITE IT8728F H/M identification
- fixed ITE IT8728F advanced properties support
- fixed ITE IT8720F PWM control
- fixed PWM readings for fans 4 and 5 on some ITE IT8712F
- added support for 3 additional temperature readings for Nuvoton W83677HG-I
- added support for Vtt voltage reading on ADT7490
- added Fintek F71858 support for fans, PWMs and advanced options
- improved detection of AD7417 to avoid false identifications
- Intel Core temperature are now properly read for 2nd Generation Intel Core Processor Family (Sandy Bridge)
- TIntelCoreSensor avoids reading temperatures from threads resulting from Hyper-Threading
- fixed temperature reporting on some hard disks that do not expose the usual SMART attribute
- added identification of Fintek F71869F
- added preliminary identification of ITE IT8772F
- added preliminary detection of Asus A8000B
- fixed a bug that prevented access to the SMBus on some ATI southbridges
- voltage scans are no longer automatically enabled for several ITE chips
- added preliminary identification for Fintek F71859
- added identification of Fintek F71809 and Fintek F71859
- added full support for Intel 6 Series SMBus
- added Intel NM10 SMBus enabler
- added full support for Intel ICH10 82801JD/DO SMBus
- /NONVIDIAI2C command line parameter is properly honoured again
- fixed a nasty bug in Intel SMBus support routines that could lead to releasing SMBus ownership at the wrong time
- improved Intel SMBus routines
- added exact voltage readings for Intel DH61BE, DH61CR, DH61DL, DH61WW, DH67BL, DH67CL, DH67GD, DH67CF, DP67BA, DP67DE, DP67BG, DB65AL, DQ67EP, DQ67OW, DQ67SW, DX58OG
- improved voltage readings for Asus P8P67 DeLuxe, P8P67 and P8P67-M
- pre-built configuration support has been added
- pressing on the left of the tabs on the main form no longer closes the program
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Deal of the Day: Xbox 360 Console 4GB w/ Kinect Bundle - $299.99 Shipped Free! Includes Dance Central FREE!
Our Deal of the Day today is the Amazon - Xbox 360 Console 4GB w/ Kinect Bundle - $299.99 Shipped Free! Includes Dance Central FREE!.
Offer: What an awesome deal here! You get:
- Xbox 360 4GB S Console
- Kinect Sensor
- Kinect Adventures Game
- Xbox 360 Black Wireless Controller
- FREE Dance Central Game ($48 value)
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G.Skill snipe competition with new Sniper Series RAM
There seems to be a theme over the recent months with military style gaming gear. We've got the latest Killer series from Gigabyte and the new ASUS P67 Sabertooth that sports what essentially looks like a massive heatsink over the whole motherboard.
Expanding upon much loved series like the Ripjaws and RipjawsX, we see the new Sniper series which aims at the gaming and modding enthusiast. Available in black and metallic green, this unique gun styled heatsink makes it the next weapon of choice in your PCs arsenal.
Available from next week we'll see kits ranging from 1333MHz DDR to 1866MHz DDR with a default voltage ranging from 1.25v to 1.6v. With 8 different speed kits hitting the market that offer support for AMDs AM3 chipset and Intels P55, P67, H61, H67 and X58, there's going to be a set for you.
Keep an eye out for a review on the new series as G.Skill has confirmed they've pulled the trigger on sending us a kit of the new series.
Make sure you check out the full press release to have a look at the speeds and timings G.Skill will be offering us.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day From Angry Birds
If you're not too
This St. Patrick's day bundle commemorates the Irish holiday by painting over the Angry Birds world in stereotypes. Players will delight to find pots of gold, giant green hat with gold buckles, and an Irish-themed instrumental thats as genius as it is annoying. I'm surprised the birds and pigs aren't all drunk.
(Please play responsibly)
iOS Download is $0.99, find it here, or just watch this gameplay video provided by Rovio.
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Red Bull Launches Very Clever AR Buying Incentive
The drink that allows most of us to study for exams or keep going despite knocking back four sake bombs in a row has launched a widespread augmented reality marketing campaign for their 12-Packs. Utilizing racing celebrities like Cole Whitt and Kasey Kahne as spokespeople, Red Bull has launched Red Bull Augmented Racing, an iOS app allows you to design a racetrack with all 12 of the cans.
All the player has to do is find a fairly open space and arrange the 12 Red Bull cans in the shape of what, ideally, is a bird's eye view of a racetrack. With their iPhone, the user loads the Red Bull app and proceeds to "track" the top of each can. The application then creates a racetrack using the relative positions of the cans, which the user can then race and subsequently upload to the Red Bull site and/or Facebook. Players compete by racing for best times in various user-created tracks, including those created by Kahne and Whitt themselves.
For Cole Whitt's promotional video, and more information about the experience including how to download, go here.
I'll admit, the "track construction" element is pretty awkward. You need to be prepared to put every can back in the box or plan ahead and do this at a party or study group session where 12 cans of Red Bull would be appreciated and heartily consumed. Despite the logistics, the game interface is actually very engaging- and nothing says "gamer" like the eternal cry for "new maps". Luckily for fans of variety, new tracks are very easy to find.
Augmented Reality promotional campaigns have been around for a few years now- Munich & San Francisco based metaio GmbH, an Augmented Reality Solutions Firm, has been involved with a few different interactive marketing tie-ins, including providing the tech for this latest with Red Bull. Metaio's Brendan Scully recently posted an instructional/educational video for the Red Bull Augmented Racing app.
Scully is correct- this really hasn't been done before.
The app uses the formidable metaio AR SDK, which includes natural feature tracking, and was created by Circ.us, a digital creative agency based in New York City. Circ.us is an intimidatingly innovative force, specializing in (amongst other things) Augmented Reality Application, Social, and Game development. Their "AR platform of choice" is, unsurprisingly, metaio's SDK, which works very well with the impressive ideation that Circ.us has to offer. Make sure to regularly check their blog updates, as we can continue to expect a lot of great things from them in the future- Circ.us is very good at providing things that haven't been done before.
This type of experience is nothing new to metaio, as their SDK was used in in January of 2010 to create an interactive web-contained game for Adidas. The consumer could use a special pair of tennis shoes to launch an FPS through his or her webcam where the shoe is the weapon and the enemies are Star Wars Storm Troopers inhabiting a wonderfully detailed digital urban environment.
The state of AR could be better- the industry seems mostly concerned with consumer tie-ins and gimmicky AR business cards, greeting cards, and gift cards (lots of cards).
The most successful implementation of AR seems to be in interactive gaming experiences, like Nintendo's AR Suite and Parrot's AR.Drone. Tablets open up a whole new arena of possibility when it comes to AR experiences- factors such as a bigger screen, a more proportional video feed, and greater accessibility in a touch interface are going to yield wonderful results for augmented reality. I can only imagine what kind of cool stuff we're going to start seeing when AR firms like metaio and creative agencies like Circ.us start taking advantage of tablets like the iPad 2.
SANTA MONICA, CA (March 14, 2011) - We all know Red Bull Gives You Wings. Now, the can also triggers the creation of a digital racetrack. Red Bull Augmented Racing is delivering a first-ever mobile gaming app for iPhone and wifi-enabled iPod Touch that allows players to create their own custom-built digital racetrack using Red Bull cans. "You don't just play the game, you create it," said Brian Vickers, driver of the #83 Red Bull Racing Team Toyota. "This is a new way for fans to further connect with the Red Bull Racing Team and enjoy the race experience on a handset."
YOU "CAN" RACE
This innovative form of game play, where racing comes to life by tracing the cans with your handset camera, is featured on all Red Bull Augmented Racing 8.4 oz 12- Packs, available in both regular and Sugarfree varieties through summer 2011. Fans can race their custom track and share it with friends and family and also upload it for users everywhere to race on.
Using AdvancedSensorFusion, motion data is collected from an iPhone or iPod Touch camera, which identifies visual points of interest and then tracks the movements of those points between each frame of video. Visual recognition of the Red Bull cans is done with the camera using naturalfeatureidentification powered by metaio. The game was developed in conjunction with Circ.us, which is a leader in uncovering remarkable uses for gameplay, animation, 3D and cross-platform creative execution.LET'S PLAY
Here are the key steps to building and racing a track: Download the Red Bull augmented racing game app to an iPhone or iPod
Touch by going to www.redbullusa.com/game. Build a track with Red Bull cans by capturing images as you move from can
to can, returning to the first can you captured. Set the cans up on stairs,
table tops, long hallways, etc. - the track design is up to the user. A thumbnail image will be automatically generated of the track on the handset.
Save it, race it and share it. Challenge friends to beat your time. Browse and race thousands of other tracked created by fellow race fans and see real time leader boards.
For more information, please visit http://www.redbullusa.com/game.For video, photos or additional information including media inquiries, please contact Audrey Adair at 404-983-4964 or audrey.adair@us.redbull.com.
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Cooler Master Test Bench V1.0 Open Air Chassis Review
Introduction
With the random products I receive sometimes, like memory with a cooler or even better, for graphics card coolers, what I have found is that tinkering with components inside my cases has become a real pain in the rear end. This alone had sent me on the quest for the simplest design that would fit my needs and take up the least amount of room possible. I had thought of a Lian Li motherboard tray and just laying things out on a table, but that just doesn't work for me. I already had the Banchetto 101 and the Lian Li Pit Stop, but while they were both excellent products in their own right, they just weren't what I was looking for.
This quest dropped me off at Cooler Master's website, and I got to looking around. On the global site I located what I thought would do exactly as I needed. A small footprint, super simple layout, and ease of use are what led me to send a request for this design. I do realize that this chassis is older; it was released over a year ago to be more specific, but this chassis suits my needs exactly, and I am going to bring you my experience with it anyways. Not only to show you what such a simple design is capable of, but I also want to inspire a redo.
The Test Bench V1.0 from Cooler Master is what I will be going over today. While this product is no longer widely available, I think it is a product well worth mentioning, and with a few minor changes could easily take the market by storm with a version 1.1 or 2.0 depending on how they want to name it. Hopefully as I take you through he build and my thoughts on the use of the Test Bench V1.0, it will inspire you as it did me to help this chassis design have a comeback, as I feel it is one of the easiest test benches I have used to date! - Stick with me as I get through what the chassis offers, look at the images, and hopefully I can inspire others to feel the same way as I do about the Test Bench 1.0 from Cooler Master.
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Palit GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Sonic Video Card in SLI Review
Introduction
It was interesting to see during the press docs that NVIDIA was promoting the GTX 550 Ti in SLI a little, as I thought as we dive down to this area it wouldn't be pushed quite as much. The thing is, though, if you really think about it, for less than the price of a single GTX 570, you can buy yourself two GTX 550 Ti cards.
Considering that multi card support is fairly rampant these days in chipsets, it's not hard to imagine people going the option of two cards over one if they do indeed represent better value. When you combine the performance that NVIDIA is offering with these cards with the high scaling ability we're seeing from NVIDIA these days in two card setups, you have to think you could have a real weapon of a setup on your hands here.
Sure, you can go down the buy one today and buy another one later path, but with the aggressive pricing of these mid-range models you don't really need to wait until some form of price drop to get the best value out of SLI setups.
Before we get into the fun stuff and check out the performance that's on offer from this SLI setup, let's first check the package that Palit has got going on with the Palit GTX 550 Ti Sonic. Of course, once that's done we'll have a closer look at the card itself before we have a look at the specifications of the card and what kind of clocks the Sonic model is carrying this time around.
So with that all said and done, let's take a closer look at what exactly is on offer here today.
Package
The box design doesn't really change much between most Palit models and you can clearly see the Sonic Overclocking Edition label on the front package. Inside there's not much going on at all with a driver CD, manual and dual Molex connector to 6-Pin PCI-E connector.
I feel like we're saying this more and more these days about the package, but we're really seeing companies choosing to show a little less love towards it and instead put more effort into the card and offer more aggressive pricing. It's probably quite safe to say that most people would feel this is a better option.
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G.Skill Launches Its New Sniper Memory Series Aimed Specifically at PC Gamers and Modding Enthusiasts!
G.Skill Launches Its New Sniper Memory Series Aimed Specifically at PC Gamers and Modding Enthusiasts!
The unique gun styled heat spreader complements the modern thought of building the most stylish gaming machine possible, while also maintaining the best in-class stability and reliability.
Taipei-Taiwan - March 14th 2011. G.Skill, the worldwide leading memory designer and manufacturer, has announced the newest concept and development of new Sniper series designed specifically for PC gamers and modding enthusiasts. Extensive compatibility tests are conducted on a wide range of Intelآ® and AMD platforms, which guarantee the best performance, quality and reliability for user's gaming needs.
The New Sniper series is designed in ultra low voltage, especially 1.25V. This kit can save up to 10% electric power which will simultaneously allow gamers to enjoy smooth gaming without any overheat problems and meet energy efficiency requirements.
Gaming takes a lot of memory consuming processes, therefore, the big capacity memory kit is necessary. G.Skill Sniper series not only fulfill your needs, but also maximize your gaming experience with the range from 4GBx2 to 4GBx6.
This Sniper series comes with two stylish colors, unique pitch-black and metallic army green. Its unparallel PC gaming style can enrich all kinds of computer gears. G.Skill is ready to pull the trigger, are you?
All G.Skill memory products come with lifetime warranty and the G.Skill technical team is always ready to provide consumers with complete technical support via online forums, facebook, telephone and email.
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WD Introduces 6 TB External Hard Drive to Support Increased HD Content Creation by Creative Pros and Mac(R) Enthusiasts
WD Introduces 6 TB External Hard Drive to Support Increased HD Content Creation by Creative Pros and Mac(R) Enthusiasts
New My Book(R) Studio Edition(TM) II Offers FireWire(R) Performance and Huge Storage Capacity for Today's HD Content Productions IRVINE, Calif., March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
Western Digital(R) (NYSE: WDC), the world's leader in external storage solutions, today introduced its My Book(R) Studio Edition(TM) II dual-drive storage system with a massive 6 terabytes (TB) of storage to meet the capacity needs of today's creative pros and Mac(R) enthusiasts who create, store, edit and archive large HD video and photo files. The new capacity provides users 33 percent more storage than the previous capacity, while maintaining the same footprint.
Combining its extended 6 TB storage capacity and compatibility with Apple(R) Time Machine(R), the new My Book Studio Edition II drive becomes an instant storage solution for a variety of professions including art and design, photography, legal and medical, and a host of other small businesses.
The system offers a quad interface providing maximum performance and flexibility including eSATA and FireWire(R) 800 when maximum performance is essential, and FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 when system flexibility is most important.
"Thanks to advancements in HD video devices including digital SLR cameras and HD video cameras, the quality and quantity of video content being produced by professionals and enthusiasts alike has grown at an astounding pace," said Dale Pistilli, vice president of marketing for WD's branded products group. "The My Book Studio Edition II drive now available with 6 TB of storage provides creative individuals with the expanded storage and bandwidth they need to effectively shoot, edit, and safely store their video productions without the need to compress their videos or reduce the overall quality of them for the sake of available space."
Extra-fast Performance and RAID Supported Configurations
Fast eSATA or FireWire 800 interfaces, combined with RAID-supported configurations, will yield the speed and responsiveness users need for a variety of tasks including fast, smooth video editing; rendering complex 3D objects or special effects, and saving/transferring enormous blocks of data in a fraction of the time it once took.
Formatted for Mac computers(1), these new storage systems feature:
آ• Massive 6 TB capacity;
آ• Extra-fast performance with four interfaces (FireWire 800/400, eSATA, USB 2.0);
آ• Cool, eco-friendly operation with WD's drives with WD GreenPower Technology that consume approximately one-third less power than standard dual-drive external storage systems and efficient convection cooling architecture and power-saving mode and designed without a fan to run quietly;
آ• Automatic and continuous backup software;
آ• User serviceability, enabling the user to open the enclosure and replace the drive inside;
آ• Capacity gauge to see at a glance how much space is available on the system; and,
آ• 5-year limited warranty.
Pricing and Availability
My Book Studio Edition II dual-drive storage systems are available now at WD's online store (www.wdstore.com). MSRP for the My Book Studio Edition II 6 TB drive is $549.99 USD.
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iBUYPOWER Partners with Tiger Direct to Unleash Gamer Extreme 966 with Powerful Core i7-960 Processor
iBUYPOWER Partners with Tiger Direct to Unleash Gamer Extreme 966 with Powerful Core i7-960 Processor
New system will be available in all 33 Tiger Direct Stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, providing customers with a hands-on experience before they buy
El Monte, CA - March 17, 2011 - iBUYPOWER, a leading innovator in gaming PCs, is excited to announce the availability of the new Intel Core i7-960 powered Gamer Extreme 966 system at all 33 Tiger Direct stores in 5 states and Puerto Rico. This will be the first time that iBUYPOWER customers in major markets like Chicago and Miami will have to opportunity for a hands-on experience with the system before they buy.
"Our customers are hardcore gamers that expect a flawless gaming experience each time they sit down in to play," said Darren Su, Vice President of iBUYPOWER. "We wanted to share that positive experience with new customers, allowing them to test drive one of our systems at a local Tiger Direct retail center."
iBUYPOWER armed the Gamer Extreme 966 with a liquid cooled Core i7-960 because of the processor's ability to recognize its work load and shift secondary activities to unused cores in order to guarantee a smooth, uninterrupted gaming session.
Housed in the Xion Echo case, the Gamer Extreme 996 also features an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 graphics card, 6GB of DDR3 Memory, 700W power supply and a 1TB hard drive, all for just $1,159.99.
Customers with more specific gaming needs can configure a fully customizable gaming PC at iBUYPOWER.com. All iBUYPOWER systems come standard with 1 year limited warranty and lifetime technical support.
Follow iBUYPOWER at facebook.com/iBUYPOWERPC for the latest news on all of iBUYPOWER's award winning systems. The company is currently giving away gear on Facebook for every 200th fans that joins the community.
For additional information about iBUYPOWER please visit iBUYPOWER.com
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