TechwareLabs

Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3-1333 RAM

Will — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:10:16 +0000

Introduction

Most of the time, RAM is like the IT guy at work: you only notice it when something goes wrong. Crucial decided to take a different tack with the Ballistix Tracer series. By embedding a series of LEDs along the top and bottom edges of the PCB, they’ve made a memory kit that puts on quite the light show. Of course, showiness is no good without solid performance; and we’ll take a hard look at that in a moment. First though, let’s hear what Crucial have to say for themselves about this glitzy little kit.

Crucial’s Take

What is Ballistix Tracer memory? Ballistix Tracer memory is specifically built for performance enthusiasts and case modders who want to push the performance envelope while adding flash appeal to their boxes. The Ballistix line of high-performance memory modules features advanced speed grades, low latencies, and integrated aluminum heat spreaders. Ballistix Tracer memory features a black PCB, black integrated heat spreaders, and one or two rows of eight “chasing” red and green LEDs atop the module, circulating in a random pattern based on memory utilization. A custom-designed circuit relays bus activity to the LEDs, allowing them to accurately reflect usage of each memory module. In addition, eight blue ground effects LEDs emit a constant glow near the pins.

Look Ma. . . LED’s!

SilverStone SG04B-H

Androski Matthew — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:13:36 +0000

Introduction:

Sometimes you want the best of both worlds; you want a small easily tote-able case and all the graphics power of a good gaming caliber rig. I give you the SilverStone SG04, a case that promises to have both small form factor size and the ability to have dual graphics cards. The slight modification I was lucky enough to receive to review was the SG04B-H which will also get a steel handle and a black paint job. Join me while we go over this Small form factor case, I give you the Silverstone SG04B-H.

SilverStone’s take:

“Sugo represents exquisiteness with its line of beautifully crafted small but powerful SFF chassis, and SilverStone’s Sugo SG04 is certainly an exquisite chassis. With the previous venerable Sugo SG03 model as the starting point, the SG04 improves every aspect of the former case from specification to user impression. With additional expansion slots and reversible power supply unit installation design, SG04 owns a superior cooling performance which can support operating dual graphic card (10.5 inch) within it. Adjustable fan positions enable users to devise their own cooling layout as required with the front door helping to reduce noise effectively. Packing with thoughtful features, the SG04 is truly worthy of living up to become another benchmark SFF enclosure.”

Case specs:

Model No.	SST-SG04B-H (black, handle)
	–
	–
	–
Material	Aluminum door and outer panels, SECC structure


Motherboard	Micro ATX
Multimedia	–
Drive Bay	External	5.25” x 1
		3.5” x 1
	Internal	3.5” x 2
Cooling System	Front	1 x 120mm fan, 1200rpm, 1 x 120mm extra fan slot
	Rear	Optional cross-flow fan
	Side	–
	Top	–
	Bottom	–
	Internal	–
Expansion Slot	5
Front I/O Port	USB2.0 port x 2 1394 x 1 Audio x 1 MIC x 1
Power Supply	Optional standard PS2 (ATX)
Expansion Card	Compatible with expansion card up to 10.5 inch
Net Weight	5.4 kg
Dimension	200 mm (W) x 417 mm (H) x 347 mm (D)
Extra	–

Remark
	＊ CPU cooler cannot exceed 82mm in height

HP DM3 Laptop/Netbook

Jason Jacobs — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:50:18 +0000

When is a Laptop Not a Netbook or a Notebook?

The answer is when it’s the new HP DM3 powered by AMD’s Athlon Neo processor. This 13.3 inch marvel combines properties of both a netbook and a notebook to achieve something truly remarkable. The DM3 has the thinness of a netbook, the resolution and size of an ultraportable laptop, the price of a netbook, and yet nearly the performance of a full laptop. The best thing about the DM3 . . . it does it all with HP styling. So is the DM3 the answer to consumer prayers? Should it be on your holiday wish list? Read on. . . .

As a consumer electronics and computer hardware review website we have seen and evaluated a staggering amount of hardware and I have watched trends form, companies rise and fall, companies compete for standards, and more. Over the last few years I have watched as a rather interesting trend formed. Dell, once known for amazing deals and good hardware for the price, has become less and less popular. This is due in part to the falling economy in the US, and in part to the growing interest in their own profit margin rather than the interests of their consumers. All the while HP hardware has taken up the slack and become not only better but much more stylish. It is nice to see HP innovating with laptop interfaces, designs, and refining the definition of both their laptop and desktop line.

Netbooks but not Notebooks:

Since the inception of the netbook there has been a growing need for more power in these low priced portables. There is a reason it is called a netbook and not a notebook. In general it CAN do all the things that a notebook can do, it will just take longer to do so. Quite a bit longer in some cases. This leads to a frustrating experience for many netbook owners that think that it is simply a low price laptop. The bottom line with a netbook is that with that low price come some trade offs.

So you want notebook performance and a netbook price right? HP listened and the DM3 is the answer. The DM3 comes in two flavors, blue (Intel) and Green (AMD) beyond the CPU and GPU and price the differences end. The DM3z and DM3t are named each for their respective CPU’s. You will find that the DM3t (Intel) is priced higher than its DM3z (AMD) brother even though the DM3z has arguably better performance and specifications for a $100 cheaper price. Here is the basics on their difference:

DM3z- $549.99	DM3t- $649.99
Dual Core Athlon Neo 1.6Ghz L335	Intel(R) Pentium(R) Processor SU4100 (1.3GHz,2M Cache)
3GB DDR2	3GB DDR3
ATI Radeon 3200 HD	Intel GMA 4500MHD
160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive	250GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
1280 x 800 LED Display	1280 x 800 LED Display
Wireless G	Wireless G

Now these are the base models. Now while the Intel first appears to have better specifications a deeper look reveals some hidden nuggets of gold at the heart of the AMD model. First the Athlon Neo L335 is a true dual core processor similar to the SU4100 but the L335 is running at 300Mhz more per core. Secondly the ATI 3200HD graphics is superior to the Intel 4500MHD.

The AMD Neo draws a maximum of 15Watts while the Core 2 Duo SU4100 had a TDP of 10Watts.

Let’s take a look at the DM3z-1030us model we are reviewing today:

DM3z-1030us

Athlon Neo L335 1.6GHz

4GB DDR2

ATI Radeon 3200HD

320GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

1366 x 768 LED Display

Wireless N + Bluetooth

Now this model is significantly upgraded from the base unit and still falls under $700 US. I am a firm believer that with computers and especially laptops you get the features you want and need the first time around to avoid problems later.

Popcorn Hour C200 Networked Media Tank/HTPC

Androski Matthew — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:22:27 +0000

Introduction

One of the best way to save money and still get a kick ass home theater set up has always been three words, “build it yourself”. Now the company Saybas is changing that and hopefully for the better with the Popcorn Hour C200. The Popcorn Hour C200 is a Network Media Tank that promises to pack a wallop when it comes to home theater set up’s. Thanks to Saybas you now have the option to purchase one of their sleek looking Popcorn Hour C200 units and still have enough in your budget to purchase a few of the latest blockbusters. Ladies and gentleman follow me as I review Saybas’s Network Media Tank, the Popcorn Hour C200.

Your first question is probably “what is a Network Media Tank?”

A Networked Media Tank is essentially a network attached storage device that handles your media files. The Popcorn Hour C200 does this very well but it can also do so much more than that.

Take a look at what the company has to say:

“With Popcorn Hour you can stream or playback digital media content from a variety of sources, such as your PC, network-attached storage, digital camera or USB storage (Flash drive, HDD, DVD drive). Popcorn Hour also makes it easy to download and stream content directly from popular Internet sites like YouTube, Blip.tv, Revision 3 and dozens of other online content sources*. Popcorn Hour even has a built-in download utility, eliminating the need to rely on your PC to download files from the Internet.”

Pretty impressive ideas but can the company live up its promises…

MSI NF980-G65 Mainboard/Motherboard

Erik — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:46:38 +0000

Introduction:

While your computer may be used for several things, whether work related or for entertainment purposes; usually the components on the inside were aimed for both options. MSI’s new motherboard, the NF980-G65 pushes all other options aside and screams, I was meant for gaming! The NF890 is in every way, a motherboard meant for the gamer enthusiast. Supporting 3-way SLI, the latest AM3 based processors (Phenom II), allowing for an easy overclocking switch and MSI’s Active Phase Switching for those who sometimes may feel the need to go green when they are not fragging (or being fragged).

MSI’s Take:

“To fit the demand of ultimate gaming performance ,MSI, as a global renowned mainboard and graphic card manufacturer, launched NF980-G65 with NVIDIA nForce 980a chipset which supports not only AMD latest Phenom™ II AM3 processor as well as DDR3 memory, but also 3-way SLI processing by additional NF200 controlling chip in order to enhance the expanding capacity of mainboard. In addition, NF980-G65 is equipped with MSI exclusive design, such as APS(Active Phase Switching), Easy OC Switch and True Blue-ray audio, presently the best option to optimize your AMD gaming performance.”

From all appearances the NF980-G65 has the makings of a stellar performing board. Are the looks deceiving or does the NF980-G65 deliver a rocket fueled high octane performance? Read on to find out.

Podcastudio

Matthew Homan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:17:37 +0000

Just recently Techwarelabs we were handed a new product from BEHRINGER to review called the PODCASTUDIO USB. This is a very interesting product for the internet generation. The PC users out there who are looking to put together their own little studio without much coin, read on as by the end of this review, you will probably be ordering one for yourself. The makings of a home studio setup have just been simplifed to your PC and this $99.99 PODCASTUDIO USB from BEHRINGER. Would you like to produce your own Pod cast sessions to be posted on the internet from a weekly sewing circle discussion to a DJ pod cast where your mixing up your own music to be heard later? BEHRINGER has the PODCASTUDIO for a very reasonable price to get you started.

- Everything you need for professional podcasting, music production and digital home recording

- Get a full recording studio “out of the box” including USB audio interface, mixer, microphone, headphones, professional audio software and more

- High-resolution 2 In / 2 Out USB audio interface with plug-and-play for Windows XP and Mac OS X operating systems

-Studio-class 5-input 2-bus mixer with premium mic preamp and 2-band “British” EQ

-Dynamic broadcast-style microphone with 2-stage pop filter

- High-performance studio headphones with ultra-wide frequency response

- Table microphone stand, XLR microphone cable and 2 stereo RCA cables

- Powerful DAW software included (Kristal Audio Engine multi-track sequencer and Audacity audio editor)

- Comprehensive podcasting software (Podifier, Juice, PodNova, Golden Ear) for PCs and Mac computers

- Illustrated quick-start guide “How to Podcast”

- High-quality components and exceptionally rugged construction ensure long life

- Conceived and designed by BEHRINGER Germany

*All trademarks (except BEHRINGER, the BEHRINGER logo, JUST LISTEN and PODCASTUDIO) mentioned belong to their respective owners and are not affiliated with BEHRINGER. Mac and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Gigabyte MA-785GPMT-UD2H Motherboard

Will — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:30:48 +0000

Introduction

Gigabyte is one of the biggest names in the computer component business, with decades of experience in producing top-notch motherboards, graphics cards, and other PC components. This new board, the MA-785GPMT-UD2H, is marketed primarily as the core of a Home Theater PC, but with enough overhead to work fairly well as the core of a compact LAN gaming rig as well. Before we dive into the testing though, let’s take a look at what Gigabyte have to say about this product.

Gigabyte’s Take

GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H (rev. 1.0)
AMD 785G + SB710 Chipset

Ultra Durable 3 Classic Technology with copper cooled quality for lower working temperature
Revolution energy saving design with Easy Energy Saver technology
Supports AMD AM3 Phenom II/ Athlon II processors
Dual Channel DDR3 1800+ for remarkable system performance
Built-in 128MB DDR3 1333MHz SidePort Memory
Integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200 graphics (DirectX10.1)
PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface with ATI Hybrid CrossFireX support for ultimate graphics performance
Features high speed Gigabit Ethernet and IEEE1394
Blu-ray playback supported by high quality 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio
Supports Dolby Home Theater audio to enjoy a rich surround sound experience
Integrated HDMI/ DVI interface for Full HD 1080 Blu-ray playback with HDCP
Patented DualBIOS with dual hardware BIOS protection
100% 50,000 hours lifespan of Japanese solid capacitors design

AMD Phenom II 955

Michael Lynch — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:21:20 +0000

Introduction:

At the beginning of this year, AMD introduced their Phenom II X4 platform. Although at the launch they had only released two processors under this platform, but over the next several months AMD had achieved many milestones in the development of their processors. One of these milestones was the release of the AMD Phenom II 955, which had a stock speed of 3.2GHz. It was even quoted that home users would able to overclock to 3.6+ GHz using the stock heat sink.

Not only does this processor has some serious power behind (equal in performance to the Intel Q9550), but it’s also only priced at $175, which is over $120 cheaper than the Intel Q9550. So how did AMD manage to get such a well performing processor at such an incredibly low price?

CoolerMaster Silent Pro M 600W Power Supply

Ilya — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:46:29 +0000

Introduction

Power supplies should never be overlooked when building a computer. In fact it can prove to be a crucial choice because it can be a source of many unpredictable error message and crashes. PSU’s are often overlooked when they occur. Not only is PSU usually the first hardware to falter with age it can also be the reason of other hardware failures. The PSU are often ranked by wattage, 500W, 600W, 850W, etc. This is however only a marketing scheme, if you will. These numbers do not paint the whole picture to the customer, far from it. Solid amperage and constant power at higher temperatures, efficiency and reliability is what makes a power supply superior. Efficiency ratio is power output over power input at different work loads.

80 Plus certification is becoming a new standard for rating efficiency for power supplies. The minimum requirements to get a certification is 80% efficiency at 20%, 50%, and 100% loads. More and more companies are submitting their power supplies for this certification so having 80 Plus label on the PSU is a good start for choosing your PSU.

CoolerMaster is a well known for making chassis, cooling, and power supplies amongst other things. They are one of those companies that are “good bang for buck”. Not to mention their power supplies are reliable and that has been the experience here at TechwareLabs. For review here we have Silent Pro M series 600Watt power supply.

CoolerMaster’s Take

Introducing the New Silent Pro PSU. The Silent Pro is the first modular PSU being offered by CMUSA, and is comprised of new unique features that set it apart from our competition. With built in copper plates, and aluminum fins the internal heat distribution is amplified and thus puts less stress on the Fan’s which prolongs the life of the PSU and also allows the unit to operate under extremely quiet conditions. In the even that the heat begin to rise the Silent Pro is equipped with a 135mm fan controlled by an on board fan speed controller. Also setting the Silent Pro line apart are the upgraded internal components similar to the UCP PSU at a fraction of the cost. The Silent Pro is designed for those looking for good stable power, with increased airflow within their case.

Feauters

Robust Design

Energy Efficient

Silent Performance

Easy Cable Management

Easy Expandability

High Quality slow burning Capacitors. Greater than 100,000 MTBF

Typically 85% under full load, and sustained 82% at idle

Energy Star, RoHs, and Blue Angel Compliant

Copper heat plates, and aluminum fins efficiently distribute the heat

135mm 19dBA, 800RPM fan provides effective cooling when heat rises, controlled by an on board Fan Speed controller

Flat Cable Design for increased case airflow and neat cable management options. 6+2 PCI-E Connectors for multiple VGA set ups

Offer single 12V rail @ 40 Amps with 120 additional Watts

Flat Cable design for improved air flow and decreased in clutter

135mm fan that spins slower with increased airflow and minimal noise

5 Year Warranty

This is a single rail PSU, which in my opinion the better way to go . Since the rail current distribution leaves room for mistakes. If you overload a 12V 20amp rail the computer will shut down. With requirements steadily growing it’s easier to overload a rail if you’re not careful.

Logitech Squeezbox Boom

Matthew Homan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:30:48 +0000

Introduction

After reviewing the Squeezebox Duet a few months ago, and believing everyone should own such a product, Logitech has sent us the Logitech” Squeezebox Boom” to review. After using the Squeezebox Boom all around the house (kitchen, out in the garage/driveway while washing the car), we are convinced the Squeezebox Boom is the Ultimate Christmas gift. The price may be a little steep for some consumers. Whoever receives theirs will enjoy using it without a doubt. This reviewer is an internet radio junkie and now I have the ability to listen to internet radio without the need to have my computer running, and I’m not confined to the computer room or my living room where I us the Logitech Duet.

Technical Specifications:

¾-inch (1.9 cm) high-definition, soft-dome tweeters and 3-inch (7.6 cm) high-power, long-throw woofers

Bi-amplified design with high performance signal processor, class D amplifiers and digital crossovers

Stereo XL™ technology widens the sound stage beyond the physical boundaries of the speaker

6-button presets allow one touch access to favorite radio stations and playlists

7-day alarm clock

Infrared remote control

Bright, high-contrast VFD display with ambient light sensor and automatic dimming

Built-in 802.11g wireless with dual internal antennas

10/100Base-T Ethernet port

Line-in via 3.5 mm stereo jack

Headphone/Subwoofer out via 3.5 mm connector

Plays MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg, FLAC, Apple lossless, WMA lossless, WAV, and AIFF music files

Connects to your home network to access music stored on your computer via Logitech® Squeezebox™ Server, or Internet radio and music services via mysqueezebox.com

VIA ARTiGO A2000

Artiom — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:59:38 +0000

Introduction

Is networked storage really necessary?

The ultimate truth behind that question lies within the individual and what he or she use the data for. On one hand laying down extra money to have dedicated storage seems to be something unnecessary in a sense that they really do not need more storage, or there is only one computer in the network. On the other hand if there are multiple computers on the network that share a printer, then the ability to have a computer dedicated to network storage becomes more and more acceptable. Aside from data sharing features, networked storage offers redundancy back up options to secure key data on all of the computers across the network.

So if after all of these deliberations have decided that networked storage is an important aspect in one’s home environment then the VIA ARTiGO A2000 is something that you might want to pay close attention to. The A2000 is designed to be a home media server designed to be as energy efficient and low power as possible. It comes with a total of 2 3.5″ hard drive bays a Base 1000/100/10 Ethernet connection and an optional WiFi card. The VIA Artigo is a barebone system which also focuses on minimizing the costs of owning a home server for the end consumer. Noting that it is a barebone system means that there will be some manual work involved in assembling all of the components of the system. Read on and join me as I try to distinguish whether the extra cost and efficiency match up to the extra work.

Features

Supports high-speed data transfer (up to 3 Gb/s) and big storage capacity (up to 1.5TB for each of the two 3.5” SATA-II hard drives).	A quiet ball-bearing fan silently cools the system with noise levels remaining below a mere 26.8 dB.	Based on a VIA processor and chipset combination, the ARTiGO A2000 is an energy-efficient system with low power consumption.

Designed with high quality solid capacitors, the ARTiGO A2000 is built reliability in mind — promising up to six times the lifespan of a regular PC.	Supports high-speed Internet access on a speedy PCI Express bus.	Built-in bootable Compact Flash socket is perfect for installing a slimmed-down version Windows or Linu

NZXT BETA – EVO Computer Case/Chassis

Androski Matthew — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:05:23 +0000

Introducing the BETA… EVO?

I know what you’re thinking; Déjà vu on the case review? Nope this is not the NZXT Beta being reposted; this is the supposedly classier brother the NZXT Beta EVO. While still a budget case my biggest question is… Is the EVO worth the extra money? Follow me as I look at the newest revision of NZXT Beta promising to offer increased cable management and a revised interior layout.

NZXT’s take on the Beta EVO.

“Announcing the Beta EVO, a sleek, all black value packed mid tower case at a budget price. Beta EVO features advanced cooling performance with support for up to 6 120 mm fans with an option of a 140mm fan at the top. Beta EVO also provides external dual radiator support along with a meshed front panel allowing for enhanced cooling potential.

Full of options for expansion, the case fits high performance 10.5″ graphics cards, up to 4 external 5.25″ drives and 5 internal 3.5″ HDD racks. Beta EVO provides a number of features that significantly enhance ease of installation including screw less installation for 5.25″ drives and superior wire management capabilities with the bottom mounted PSU and 180 degree turned HDD cage. It also features punched holes in the motherboard allowing for quick CPU bracket removal.”

Features

Fits ATX Standard Motherboards and Power Supplies
Fits large 10.5″ performance graphic cards
Expanded cooling directly cools video cards and CPU
Support for up to 6 120mm fans with the option of dual 140mm at the top
Screw less installation for hard drives and external 5.25″ drives
Black Internal finish for sleek look
Meshed front panel allows for better airflow than traditional cases
Superior wire management with bottom mounted :: PSU and CPU punch-out for heat sink removable
Removable PSU filter
180 degree Turned HDD for a cleaner internal finish and better wire management
External Dual radiator support
Top mounted USB/Audio for convenient usage

Athlon II X3 435 Triple Core Processor

Erik — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:02:19 +0000

Introduction:

With the ongoing buzz of people worrying about the economy and their own funds, the term “low budget” is becoming used far more often. Today, we are going to be looking at AMD’s Athlon II X3 435 processor. The Athlon II X3 435 has 1.5MBs of L2 Cache per core and is a 95W (45nm) processor. It supports all the same features found in the rest of the Athlon II processors (X2, X3 and X4 alike). However, AMD’s larger aim is based on it’s price point. With a amazing sub $90 price there should be no reason not to take a second look at the new Athlon II CPUs, especially if you are on a budget.

Lets not forget about the array of testing ahead. Keep reading to see how the Athlon II X3 435 handled all the testing.

AMD’s Take:

“Do more of the things you want to in less time and enhance your digital life with the multi-core performance and energy efficiency of AMD Athlon™ II processor-based desktop systems. Combined with superior ATI Radeon™ HD graphics technology, systems based on the AMD Athlon™ II processor deliver a vivid visual experience, superior multi-tasking, and exceptional digital media performance with next-generation energy efficiency.”

Features & Benefits

Better Multi-Tasking Means Increased Office Productivity

Setting the Pace in Digital Media

Get more Power using less Power

AMD PowerNow!™ Technology (Cool’n’Quiet™ Technology)

AMD64 Technology

Enhanced Virus Protection*

AMD Athlon Processor Architecture Performance

HyperTransport™ Technology

Ready for the 64-bit future

Purchase with Confidence

Specifications:

Model Number/Core Frequency X3 435 / 2.9GHz

Cache Size 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (256KB total L1 per processor)

512KB of L2 data cache per core (1.5MB total L2 per processor)

Process Technology 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology

HyperTransport™technology links One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)

Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth Up to 37.3 GB/s total bandwidth

Types of Memory - PC2-8500 / DDR2-1066MHz

- PC3-10600 / DDR3-1333MHz**

Die Size 169.5 mm² (45nm)

Packaging Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)

Let’s have a quick look at the breakdown of the architecture for the Athlon II

Haupauge HVR-1800 TV Tuner Card

Chris — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:30:47 +0000

Introduction:

The notion of a personal Home Theater PC (HTPC) is becoming more prevalent lately. Many ideas can go into the planning of an HTPC. Will it be able to stream video across the network? Will it act as a central media hub? Will it be able to view online videos? The most important question being, will it be able to record and playback TV? This is where Hauppauge shines. Hauppauge has been producing quality TV tuner cards for quite some time now. In the Linux community, their cards are near synonymous with MythTV. So does their latest addition, the WinTV-HVR-1800, have the goods to make it into your next HTPC build? Read on, and we’ll tell you.

Axle 3D Announces GeForce® GT 220 and GeForce® 210

Dan Shannon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:55:09 +0000

AXLE is proud to release the new series of GeForce® GT 220 and GeForce® 210 which bring you a new definition of HD entertainment with affordable price.

Superior Graphics Processing

Both the latest games and 3D applications have stricter requirement on the graphic performance than before and the integrated graphics solution is not powerful enough. AXLE GeForce® GT 220 packs 48 processing cores into

a compact power efficient design delivering up to 30x the performance* of Intel integrated solutions.

Powerful Video Editing / Playback

Get all the video processing power that your digital lifestyle requires. Clean up home video 4x faster and post it on Facebook with the AXLE GeForce® GT 220 or GeForce® 210. Convert your video and put it on your iPod in minutes instead of hours** or make your DVDs look like HD. AXLE GeForce® GT220 and GeForce® 210 can playback any Blu Ray Movie with any modern CPU.

Premium Windows 7 Experience

Graphics processing units (GPUs) are an essential element of today’s PCs, enabling more visual and more I nteractive experiences. As a leader in visual computing and the inventor of the GeForce® GPU, NVIDIA® worked closely with Microsoft® on the development of Windows 7 to ensure that its GPUs take full advantage of the great new features and functionality. If you use your PC to enhance photos, watch or edit videos, play games, or if you simply desire a fast and efficient graphical interface, AXLE GeForce® GT220 and GeForce® 210 offers a premium experience with Windows 7.

Applying the new 40nm GPU technology from NVIDIA®, AXLE GeForce® GT 220 and AXLE GeForce® 210 deliver a more advanced level of performance than the predecessors 9500GT and 8400GS. In terms of the number of shaders, GT220 has 50% more than that of 9500GT whereas G210 has 100% more than that of 8400GS. AXLE GeForce® GT 220 comes with 2 versions of memory, 128-bit 1.6GHz DDR3 memory and 800MHz DDR2 memory. The card features NVIDIA® Unified Architecture, NVIDIA CUDA™ technology, Microsoft® Windows 7 support, NVIDIA® PureVideo® HD and NVIDIA PhysX® technologies, HDMI ouput with HD 1080p display support, PCI Express 2.0 support and Microsoft DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1 support.

AXLE GeForce® 210, on the other hand, is assembled with 64-bit 1.2GHz DDR3 memory or 800 MHZ DDR2 memory. The additional features embrace NVIDIA® Unified Architecture, NVIDIA® CUDA™ Parallel Computing Architecture, NVIDIA® PureVideo® HD and NVIDIA PhysX® technologies, HDMI output with HD 1080p display support, Microsoft DirectX 10.1 and Shader Model 4.1 support and PCI Express 2.0 support.

For detailed product information, please visit www.axle3d.com.

AXUS FiT 500 RAID box

dwarf — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:51:32 +0000

Introduction

RAID is very popular among those looking for the fastest possible, the most reliable possible, or both when in comes to their storage solution, but not everyone has the chassis space to pack 4+ drives for their RAID6, or just the two required for RAID0 and 1. That’s when you turn to a RAID box. RAID boxes allow for external RAID control for professional situations that need many drives for speed or redundancy, or both. They come in many sizes and many budget ranges, and are perfect for those that don’t want their main drive to be on RAID. Today, we have the AXUS FiT 500E RAID subsystem. This mid-sized enclosure offers 5 drive bays and easy RAID configuration through it’s rotary switch and LCD screen. We’ll play with the AXUS FiT 500 after the break, but first, here is some information about AXUS and the FiT 500.

AXUS Microsystems Inc

“AXUS Microsystems Inc is the professional Storage products manufacturer — produces high reliability and cost effective RAID Storage products. The company specializes in RAID Storage Solution at an affordable cost, while offering superior customer service and responsive technical support. We have been in the Storage Solution business for more than 10 years, and we deliver top-quality, reliable Storage Solution.

As one subsidiary of ASUStek, our continual commitment to providing dependable, fast, break-through Storage technologies has retained a high percentage of large institutional repeat buyers, small/medium businesses, and multi-purpose media applications.

Thank you for your interest in AXUS products; we look forward to serving all your Storage needs.”

Specification

RAID Series FiT 500

Model number FiT500E FiT500F

Bay number 5

Tower/Rack Tower

RAID Level 0/1/10/3/5/PM/LARGE/CLONE

Event notification Buzzer, LCD, GUI

RAID Level eSATA/USB2.0 eSATA/1394b/USB2.0

Disk Interface SATAI/II

HDD size 3.5″

RAW capacity up to 7.5 TB

RAID Management GUI/LCD/Rotary switch

RAID Management Windows /Linux / Mac OS ( OS independent and transparent )

Power Supply 220W

Electrical AC Voltage 100~240 VAC / AC frequency 50~60 Hz

Temperature Operating temperature 5~35 ℃,None-Operating temperature : -40 ~60 ℃

Relative Humidity 20% ~ 80% non-condensing

Dimension (mm/inches) WxDxH 140 x 242 x 208/5.67 x 9.53 x 8.19

Weight (kg/lbs) 3.88/8.55

Features

Cost Effective Raid 5 solution:
FiT built with cost effective Hardware RAID SOC solution and most popular SATA Disk interface. SOC technology truly enforces low-cost and easy-to-use RAID 5 storage solution, and SATA Disk interface brings benefits from the high performance, large capacity and lowest cost SATA drives.
No more restriction:
FiT supports 48 bit LBA addressing bit that free of 2TB restriction, FiT allows high demanding users to store large data of music, audio and video files while many small RAID systems still locked by 2TB limitation. By overcoming the 2TB limitation, FiT extended the lifetime of RAID systems and disk drives significantly.
Compact:
The FIT is designed to be compact from the outside, yet spacious and versatile from the inside. The HDD tray connects directly with backplane and an External FAN module on the rear-end side gives the FIT compact footprint.
Multiple RAID Level
FiT Supports multiple RAID Levels including RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, PM, Large, and Clone that can be tuned to the required level to support your application on capacity, reliability and performance necessarily.
One Button backup
FiT packs with one button backup software, PCClone_EX, offering an easier way to backup your data. By only one time configuration, RAID box will automatically do the further backup tasks when user clicks the One Button Backup .
SMART and Noise-Free Fan module.
With a thermal sensor and SMART, 4 levels RPM of FAN module efficiently reduce / lower the noise, provide a quite working environment for power-users, and let them to be more focused on creations. Hot-swappable Fan module prevents the situation of data damage from overheating Raid.
Hot Swappable Tray
This is not only for Simplifying Hard disk installation but also for preparing redundant data protection in Real-times.

AMD Athlon II X2 240e Processor

Will — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:37:13 +0000

Introduction

Home Theater PCs have been all the rage in recent years. As people turn more and more to internet-based services like Hulu and NetFlix to get their entertainment, the demand for devices that can handle all that media and stream it to your TV has shot up dramatically. While many pre-built set-top boxes exist to fill this niche, they often leave much to be desired. Limited format support, limited storage space, limited choice of media services; too many of these boxes leave you wanting more. Also, none of these boxes allow for gaming, beyond trivial games like Peggle or Bejeweled.

This is where the DIY home theater PC comes into play. You choose how it looks, you choose what goes inside, and you set it up to do just what you want, and nothing you don’t. Building a HTPC on the cheap is fairly simple, but it needs a good CPU to do all the things you want it to do. Enter AMD’s Athlon II X2 line, a series of cheap, low-power-draw CPUs that are aimed squarely at the budget PC and HTPC market. Today we’ll be looking at the Athlon II X2 240e, one of AMD’s most economical offerings in the Athlon II line.

Specifications

Model Number & Core Frequency X2 240e / 2.8GHz

OPN AD240EHDK23GQ

L1 Cache Sizes 64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (256KB total L1 per processor)

L2 Cache Sizes 1MB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)

Memory Controller Type Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller *

Memory Controller Speed 2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management

Types of Memory Supported Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066MHz)

HyperTransport 3.0 Specification One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)

Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth Up to 33.1GB/s bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s total bandwidth (DDR2 or DDR3-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]

Packaging Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)

Fab location GLOBALFOUNDRIES Fab 1 Module 1

Process Technology 45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology

Approximate Die Size 117.5 mm2

Approximate Transistor count ~ 234 million

Max Temp 72 degrees Celsius

Nominal Voltage .775 – 1.35V

Max TDP 45 Watts

*Note: configurable for dual 64-bit channels for simultaneous read/writes
The specifications here are mostly what you’d expect, though of particular note is the maximum TDP, or Thermal Dispersion Profile. This CPU is meant to draw 45 watts at most, which puts it 20 watts below the Core 2 line of processors in power draw.

TechwareLabs Daily news

Jason Jacobs — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:45:46 +0000

TechwareLabs Daily News

ASUS Maximus II Gene Motherboard @ Hothardware

Western Workstation & Server CPU Comparison Guide Rev. 3.3 @ TechARP

Xigmatek Balder SD1283 HDT CPU Cooler @ Tweaktown

Antec Skeleton Open Air Computer Case Review @ Tweaknews

AMD Athlon II X4 630 Extreme Overclocking with LN2 @ Tweaktown

Ghost Detecting Gadgets that Confirm your Sanity

With Halloween coming up this weekend, it seemed like the perfect time to discuss a problem far too many of us face—homes that are haunted by evil spirits.These gadgets can confirm you are not completely crazy.

What does it say about the sanity of anyone owning more than one of these gadgets?

Check out the article here.

Ten Most Geekiest Halloween Costumes Explored @ Engadget

—clearly, Halloween is dominated by nerds far too old to trick-or-treat. It was also clear that mdg357’s homemade Iron Man suit was more than deserving of the free pizza.

The old school Megatron dude would have won it for me, strictly on style points.

Facebook Awarded $711 Million In Anti-Spam Case

“Facebook is on a never-before-seen legal rampage against high profile internet spammers. Today Facebook was awarded yet another nine-figure settlement, this time for over $700 million. Facebook also has a criminal contempt case on Wallace, which means a high likelihood of prison, a big win for the internet and a milestone in cyber law. ‘The record demonstrates that Wallace willfully violated the statutes in question with blatant disregard for the rights of Facebook and the thousands of Facebook users whose accounts were compromised by his conduct,’ Jeremy Fogel wrote in his judgment order, which permanently prohibits Wallace from accessing the Facebook Web site or creating a Facebook account, among other restrictions.”

I don’t understand why the courts impose such rubbish awards, they have to know there’s not a snowballs chance in hell that Facebook will ever see the cash. It would be far more productive to take a realistic assessment of the damage and penalize the individual in both a cash and sentence that would be more meaningful. This guy will simply declare bankruptcy and restart another spam campaign. Jail time for the SPAMMERS!

New Threats Against Pirate Bay Owners

In what is shaping up to be the never ending saga of The Pirate Bay it seems the Swedish courts are trying a new tactic. Prosecute the founders and ban them from running their own site. Uum yeah, neither they, nor the website is even in Sweden anymore. But hey MPAA and RIAA don’t give up yet. . . you could always hire a hitman for the job.

“The Pirate Bay should be closed, and if it isn’t, two of the founders will each have to pay a fine of 500,000 Swedish kronor (US$71,500), according to a verdict in the Stockholm District Court. This time it’s Fredrik Neij and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg who are in the court’s crosshairs. They have been forced to shut down the site or pay the fine. The court has stated that the site will have to remain closed unless Neij and Warg are exonerated on another similar case they’re involved in, which is now on appeal.”

Federal Judge Says E-mail Not Protected By 4th Amendment

“In the case In re United States, Judge Mosman ruled that there is no constitutional requirement of notice to the account holder because the Fourth Amendment does not apply to e-mails under the third-party doctrine. ‘When a person uses the Internet, the user’s actions are no longer in his or her physical home; in fact he or she is not truly acting in private space at all. The user is generally accessing the Internet with a network account and computer storage owned by an ISP like Comcast or NetZero. All materials stored online, whether they are e-mails or remotely stored documents, are physically stored on servers owned by an ISP. When we send an e-mail or instant message from the comfort of our own homes to a friend across town the message travels from our computer to computers owned by a third party, the ISP, before being delivered to the intended recipient. Thus ‘private’ information is actually being held by third-party private companies.”"

UPDATE:

I blogged yesterday about a new opinion on e-mail and the Fourth Amendment. I received a few requests for a copy of the opinion, so I formatted a version of it and have posted it here.

In the course of re-reading the opinion to post it, I recognized that I was misreading a key part of the opinion. As I read it now, Judge Mosman does not conclude that e-mails are not protected by the Fourth Amendment. Rather, he assumes for the sake of argument that the e-mails are protected (see bottom of page 12), but then concludes that the third party context negates an argument for Fourth Amendment notice to the subscribers. I missed this because the reasoning closely resembles the argument for saying that the Fourth Amendment doesn’t apply at all, and I didn’t read the earlier section closely enough. That’s obviously a much narrower position, and I apologize for misunderstanding it the first time in the quick skim I gave it. Sorry about that: The fault is entirely mine.

This could be very bad, guess its time to fire up the digital shredder and start the process of “getting off the grid” before big brother comes calling.

Sandisk UltraBackup USB Flash Drive

Stefan — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:21:05 +0000

Introduction:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and some memories are irreplaceable. Nowadays almost everyone saves their precious photos and memories electronically. So what would happen if your computer or notebook crashed and lost all that data? Thankfully, SanDisk has created a convenient USB memory stick that has the capability to backup all of our dearest memories and hopefully there will be no more worrying about losing those decade old pictures and priceless memories. There are many portable storage devices out on the market, so does the SanDisk Ultra-Backup Flash Drive have what it takes to compete?

SanDisk Extreme Pro Compact Flash Memory card

dwarf — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:43:35 +0000

Guest writing today we have film maker and Canon 5D Mark II owner, Alex Wolfe. Welcome Alex!

Introduction

How does one explain a card like this? I know – above top of the line! Or SanDisk’s new Compact Flash(CF) card line, Extreme Pro, with it’s 16, 32, and 64 GB options, has more speed than we have need… for… sorry about the rhyme. I suppose I mean to say more speed than you could ever need, but of course that is not really true. The Sandisk Extreme Pro’s specs out perform most professional cameras including the Canon 5D Mark II. We’ll check out if all this speed is worth it, after the break.
By the way, here is a small refresher on the what and why of CF cards courtesy of Wikipedia:

“CompactFlash (CF) is a mass storage device format used in portable electronic devices. For storage, CompactFlash typically uses flash memory in a standardized enclosure.

The format was first specified and produced by SanDisk in 1994. The physical format is now used for a variety of devices.

CompactFlash became a popular storage medium for digital cameras. In recent years it has been widely replaced by smaller cards on the consumer end, but it is still a preferred format for professional DSLR cameras, for its superior capacity and reliability.”

SanDisk on the Extreme Pro

“Now there’s a memory card fast enough to keep up with your advanced DSLR: The SanDisk Extreme® Pro™ CompactFlash® card. With lightning-fast (up to 90 MB/s* read/write) speed, you’ll be able to capture more continuous burst shooting-and get the most out of your professional digital SLR camera. And with up to 64GB** of storage, you’ll be ready for more RAW+JPEG and high-def video.

SanDisk engineered its Power Core™ Controller to take whatever your camera’s buffer can dish out. By distributing image data across the card more rapidly and efficiently, this card delivers professional performance.”

Specifications

Capacities: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB

Dimensions: 1.7 x 0.1 x 1.4 inches

Weight: 1 ounce

Technical details:

Up to 90MB/sec (600x) (Read speed may be lower)

UDMA 6 enabled

ESP (Enhanced Super Parallel Processing), SanDisk’s card performance technology

Performs between -25C to 85C (-13F to 185F)

Shock protection

RTV silicone coating for protection against moisture.

Limited lifetime warranty (http://www.sandisk.com/sandisk-support/warranty-and-user-guides/warranty)

Power Core Controller & Enhanced Super-Parallel Processing

Model Number/Core Frequency	X3 435 / 2.9GHz
Cache Size	64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (256KB total L1 per processor) 512KB of L2 data cache per core (1.5MB total L2 per processor)
Process Technology	45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
HyperTransport™technology links	One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth	Up to 37.3 GB/s total bandwidth
Types of Memory	- PC2-8500 / DDR2-1066MHz - PC3-10600 / DDR3-1333MHz**
Die Size	169.5 mm² (45nm)
Packaging	Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)

Model Number & Core Frequency	X2 240e / 2.8GHz
OPN	AD240EHDK23GQ
L1 Cache Sizes	64K of L1 instruction and 64K of L1 data cache per core (256KB total L1 per processor)
L2 Cache Sizes	1MB of L2 data cache per core (2MB total L2 per processor)
Memory Controller Type	Integrated 128-bit wide memory controller *
Memory Controller Speed	2.0GHz with Dual Dynamic Power Management
Types of Memory Supported	Support for unregistered DIMMs up to PC2-8500 (DDR2-1066MHz) -AND- PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066MHz)
HyperTransport 3.0 Specification	One 16-bit/16-bit link @ up to 4.0GHz full duplex (2.0GHz x2)
Total Processor-to-System Bandwidth	Up to 33.1GB/s bandwidth [Up to 17.1 GB/s total bandwidth (DDR2 or DDR3-1066) + 16.0GB/s (HT3)]
Packaging	Socket AM3 938-pin organic micro pin grid array (micro-PGA)
Fab location	GLOBALFOUNDRIES Fab 1 Module 1
Process Technology	45-nanometer DSL SOI (silicon-on-insulator) technology
Approximate Die Size	117.5 mm2
Approximate Transistor count	~ 234 million
Max Temp	72 degrees Celsius
Nominal Voltage	.775 – 1.35V
Max TDP	45 Watts