Archive for December, 2010

Lian Li PC-Q08 Mini-ITX Cube Case Review

Mini-ITX motherboards are becoming more and more powerful and with that we can do a lot more with them.  Their small size and low cost makes them perfect for home theater PC’s (HTPC’s).  When putting together your HTPC system you want a case that is very visually appealing, but still has enough room for all of your media drives and has the necessary connections for easy file transfers.  Today we will taking a look at the PC-Q08 from Lian Li which has room for 6 3.5-inch hard drives has 2 front mounted  USB 3.0 ports.

Wednesday’s News Post 12-15-10

The week is half over! Looking for a great new video card? Check out our review of the Zotac GeForce GTX 580 1536MB Video Card! It is the best performing card we have tested to date! Here is a quote from the review…

“Just about a month ago NVIDIA announced the new Fermi GF110 GPU and the GeForce GTX 580 video card. This will be NVIDIA’s new flagship card replacing the older GTX 480. The GF100 GPU was never what NVIDIA meant it to be and they went back and revised it a little bit for this new line of cards. This means they were able to achieve higher clock speeds and all 512 CUDA cores are enabled. Today we will be looking at a reference model from Zotac, the ZT-50101-10P. Let’s see how this card compares to the competition.” Read On…

Now for some affiliate news!

Cooling
Noctua NH-C14 Topflow Cooler @ Hardwareoverclock.com
Deepcool Ice Matrix 600 @ HardwareBistro
Noctua NH-C14 Lower Noise Heatsink Review @ Frostytech.com

Gaming
GIGABYTE Aivia K8100 Gaming Keyboard @ TweakTown

Motherboards
Gigabyte X58A-UD5 @ LanOC Reviews

Power
Thortech Thunderbolt Plus 800w Power Supply @ TechwareLabs

Storage
Vantec Nexstar NST-D400S3 SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Dual Bay Hard Drive Dock Review @ Tweaknews

Video
XFX HD 6970 Graphics Card Review @ Tweaknews
Sapphire Radeon HD6950 Video Card Review @ Ninjalane
Powercolor HD6970 Graphics Card Review @ KitGuru
AMD Radeon HD 6950 & 6970 CrossFire Video Card Reviews @ Legit Reviews
AMD HD 6970 and HD 6950 Review @ OCC
Sapphire HD6970 BF:BC2 Vietnam Edition @ LanOC Reviews
Sapphire Radeon 6970 @ PureOverclock
PowerColor Radeon HD 6970 Video Card @ Benchmark Reviews
AMD HD 6970 Graphics Card Review @ Overclockers.com
ASUS Radeon HD 6950 CrossFire @ techPowerUp
Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB DDR5 DX11 Video Card Review @ Hi Tech Legion
Diamond Radeon HD 6970 XOC DirectX 11 Video Card Review @Hi Tech Legion
Sapphire Radeon HD 6970 2GB Video Card @ TweakTown
AMD Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950 Review @ Hardware Canucks
HIS Radeon HD 6970 2 GB @ techPowerUp

Techbargains Deals for 12-15-10

OUR FAVORITE DEAL OF THE DAY!
• OCZ Vertex 2 60GB Internal SATA Solid State Drive SSD (SandForce Controller, TRIM) for $94.99 plus free shipping (normally $193 – use this form).

Computers & Peripherals:
• 15.6” Gateway ID5815H-CA Intel Dual-Core T4500 2.3GHz Laptop (3GB/320GB/Win7) for 399.99 (normally $599 – use coupon code: IEW14866).

• 15.6” Toshiba Satellite C655D-S5041 Intel Celeron 900 2.2GHz Laptop (2GB/250GB/Win7) for $299.99 (normally $399).

• 14.5” HP Envy 14 Intel Core i5-460M 2.53GHz Laptop (4GB/640GB/Radeon HD5650/14-Cell Battery!) for $999.99 plus free shipping (normally $1299 – use coupon code: NB1269).

• Dell Vostro 230s Slim Intel Dual-Core E5500 2.8GHz Desktop (2GB/250GB/Win7) w/ 22in LCD for $389.00 (normally $617).

• OCZ Vertex 2 60GB Internal SATA Solid State Drive SSD (SandForce Controller, TRIM) for $94.99 plus free shipping (normally $193 – use this form).

• 2TB Seagate Barracuda LP Internal SATA Hard Drive for $84.99 plus free shipping (normally $99 – use coupon code: EMCYTZT248).

• Patriot 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3-1333MHz PC3-10600 Notebook Memory Single Stick for $37.99 plus free shipping (normally $52 – use this form).

• 28” Hannspree ST289MUB Widescreen LCD Monitor & HDTV Combo (1080p, HD Tuner) for $239.99 plus free shipping (normally $399).

Gaming:
• Microsoft Xbox 360 Live Gold 1yr Subscription + Your Choice of One Game for $79.00 plus free shipping (normally $99).
Home Entertainment:

• 55” Element ELGFW551 LCD HDTV (1080p, 120Hz) for $699.00 plus free shipping (normally $899).

• 46” Samsung LN46C550 LCD HDTV (1080p, Wireless DLNA) for $699.99 plus free shipping (normally $949 – use coupon code: UBB15505).

Personal Electronics:
• Dell Streak 5in Touchscreen Smartphone (Now with Android 2.2 Froyo) for $199.99 plus free shipping (normally $299).

• Sony Ericsson XPERIA X8 3in Touchscreen Smartphone (Unlocked, Quad-Band GSM) for $189.99 plus free shipping (normally $399).

• Garmin nuvi 265WT GPS Navigation (4.3in, Bluetooth, Lifetime Traffic Updates) for $99.99 (normally $129).

Antec’s LanBoy Air Chassis Earns iF Product Design Award 2011

Fremont, CA – December 14, 2010 – In its 25^th year anniversary, Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets, today announced its LanBoy Air chassis has secured the prestigious International Forum (iF) Product Design Award 2011 for excellence in design quality in the “Computers” category.

Antec’s LanBoy Air is a state-of-the art, fully modular, open-frame chassis providing limitless configurability and flexibility to high-performance gamers, modders and workstation users. It features cutting-edge cooling and airflow capabilities, an entirely reconfigurable interior with modular drive bays, PSU and motherboard mounts that provide a highly versatile framework (allowing for extensive air ventilation and customization), along with its patented vibration and noise-dampening AirMount™ HDD suspension system.

MSI’s All New Extreme Performance R6970 and R6950 Video Cards Announced

City of Industry, CA – December 15, 2010 – The pursuit of extreme performance is always the most important consideration for top power users when selecting computer components, and competing manufactures always strive to be the best in the flagship product market. Because of this, world-renowned video card and mother board manufacturer Micro-Star Intl Co. Ltd., in collaboration with graphics processing unit manufacturer AMD, is proud to announce two brand-new R6900-series video card today. The new MSI R6970-2PM2D2GD5 and R6950-2PM2D2GD5 graphics cards, based on AMD’s flagship HD6900 GPU , includes an industry-leading 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 large capacity video memory buffer, satisfying the enthusiast’s thirst for high-resolution graphics performance. Additionally, with specially marked packages users can receive a free Advanced Version of 3DMark11, allowing the full DirectX 11 experience to be enjoyed. You can also upload your results onto their official website and compare your results against users from around the world!

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (WD1002FAEX) SATA 6GB/s Hard Drive Review

With all of the solid state hard drives that came out this year it seems like traditional hard drives sort of took a back seat, unless you were looking to get a large capacity drive.  One thing that many people may have overlooked was the availability of SATA 6GB/s drives.  A SATA 6GB/s drive has double the transfer rate (6GB/s compared to 3GB/s) as the SATA II drive that is currently in your system.  Today we will be taking a look at the Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA 6GB/s Hard Drive and see how it compares to some other SATA drives.  Let’s check it out!

Techbargains Deals for 12-14-10

OUR FAVORITE DEAL OF THE DAY!
• Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS 14MP 4X Digital Camera (BLACK, SILVER) for $129.00 plus free shipping (normally $279 – use coupon code: EMCZNZR27).

Computers & Peripherals:
• 14” Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 Intel Core i3-370 2.4GHz 14in Laptop (4GB/500GB/Radeon HD5650/Win7) for $599.00 plus free shipping (normally $999 – use coupon code: USPY4G1210).

• 14” Lenovo G460 Intel Core i3-370M 2.4GHz Laptop (4GB/500GB/Win7) for $549.00 plus free shipping (normally $899 – use coupon code: USPG7C1210).

• Lenovo IdeaCentre A310 Intel Core i5 2.4GHz All-in-One Desktop (4GB/500GB) w/ 22in 1920×1080 LCD for $649.00 plus free shipping (normally $1149 – use coupon code: USPA1H1211).

• Lenovo IdeaCentre A700 Intel Core i3 All-in-One Desktop (4GB/500GB) w/ 23in Touchscreen LCD for $729.00 plus free shipping (normally $1099 – use coupon code: USPA3B1213).

• Dell Inspiron 580 Intel Core i5-760 Quad-Core Desktop (6GB/1TB/Wifi/Radeon HD5450) + $100 Dell Gift Card for $699.99 plus free shipping (normally $1017).

• GoDaddy Coupon Code – $0.99 Year Domain Name Registration (Including .COM) (normally $11 – use coupon code: Holiday99).

• Logitech MK550 Wireless Wave Keyboard/Mouse for $39.99 plus free shipping (normally $79 – use this form).

• 1TB Seagate FreeAgent Go Portable External Hard Drive for $89.99 plus free shipping (normally $169).

• Razer Black Widow USB Wired Mechanical Gaming Keyboard for $55.99 plus free shipping (normally $69 – use coupon code: RAZER1213).

Home Entertainment:
• Sony VPL-BW7 LCD Home Theater Projector (720p, 2000 Lumens) for $429.99 plus free shipping (normally $899).

• 50” Panasonic VIERA TC-P50VT25 3D Plasma TV (Panasonic’s Highest End Plasma) for $1577.00 (normally $2599 – use coupon code: LSDA1213).

• 40” Sony KDL-40EX600 LED-Edgelit LCD HDTV (1080p) for $699.99 plus free shipping (normally $799 – use coupon code: GYX15244).

• Panasonic SC-BTT350 5.1ch 3D Blu-Ray Home Theater System w/ Netflix Streaming for $299.00 (normally $399 – use coupon code: LSDA1213).

• Denon AVR-1911 7.1ch 90W/ch AV Receiver w/ HDMI 1.4, Anchor Bay, Audyssey MultEQ for $429.00 (normally $599 – use coupon code: LSDA1213).

Personal Electronics:
• Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS 14MP 4X Digital Camera (BLACK, SILVER) for $129.00 plus free shipping (normally $279 – use coupon code: EMCZNZR27).

• Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS 12MP 4X Digital Camera (Image Stabilized) for $89.00 plus free shipping (normally $179 – use coupon code: EMCZNZR26).

Techbargains Deals for 12-13-10

OUR FAVORITE DEAL OF THE DAY!
• 24” Samsung 2494LW Widescreen LCD Monitor (1920×1080) for $149.99 plus free shipping (normally $229).

Computers & Peripherals:
• 17.3” HP dv7t Intel Core i7-720QM Quad-Core Laptop (4GB/500GB/ATI Radeon HD5650) for $799.99 plus free shipping (normally $1099 – use coupon code: NB3548).

• 15.6” Acer Aspire AS5742Z-4685 Intel Dual-Core P6100 2GHz Laptop (4GB/320GB) for $399.98 plus free shipping (normally $599).

• Dell Vostro 230s Slim Intel Dual-Core E5500 2.8GHz Desktop (3GB/320GB/Win7) w/ Samsung 24in LCD for $429.00 (normally $741).

• Dell Inspiron 560 Intel Dual-Core E5700 3GHz Desktop (3GB/500GB) w/ 19in LCD for $399.99 (normally $544).

• Intel X25-M 120GB MLC Internal SATA Solid State Drive SSD (2nd Gen,TRIM) + $25 Newegg Gift Card for $169.99 plus free shipping (normally $284 – use this form).

• Newegg Holiday Gift Card Sale (Get Up To a $100 Gift Card).

• Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9 Software Bundle for $59.99 plus free shipping (normally $99 – use this form).

• 24” Samsung 2494LW Widescreen LCD Monitor (1920×1080) for $149.99 plus free shipping (normally $229).

• Microsoft LifeCam Cinema High Definition Webcam (720p, Microphone) for $39.95 plus free shipping (normally $79).

• Lenovo Multimedia Remote w/ Keyboard & Mouse (Trackball) + Holiday Skins for $25.00 plus free shipping (normally $64 – use coupon code: USPC10D26599).

• Kingston HyperX 2GB DDR3-1600MHz PC3-12800 Desktop Memory for $19.95 plus free shipping (normally $32 – use this form).

• Samsung SCX-4623F Monochrome Laser All-in-One Printer w/ Fax for $129.99 plus free shipping (normally $199).

Home Entertainment:
• 40” Samsung LN40C500F3F LCD HDTV (1080p) for $497.97 plus free shipping (normally $599).

• Yamaha RX-A700 7.1ch 630W AV Receiver + 8GB iPod Touch + $100 Newegg Gift Card for $599.99 plus free shipping (normally $899).

Personal Electronics:
• Canon PowerShot SD1300 12MP 4X Digital Camera for $109.99 plus free shipping (normally $149).

Monday’s News Post 12-13-10

Wow it seems like this month really is going fast! Are you looking for some new thermal paste? If you are check out our review of the Arctic Cooling Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste! Here is a quote from the review…

“One of the main things when ether building a new high end system or trying to make your current system run cooler is good thermal paste. There are a ton of brands out there with many different ones to choose from, ranging from just basic paste to thermal paste made out of crushed diamonds. Choosing the best thermal paste will allow you to run your computer cooler and for the overclockers to be able to push the CPU further while allowing the processor and the cooler or water cooling to do its job. Today we will be testing out the Arctic Cooling Arctic MX-4 Thermal Paste.” Read On…

Now for some affiliate news!

Contests
Hi Tech Legion Holiday Giveaway Spectacular 2010 (Week Four) @ Hi Tech Legion

Audio
Plantronics Gamecom 777 7.1 Surround Headset @ OCModShop

Cases
Lian Li PC-V1020R Full Tower Computer Case @ Benchmark Reviews
ThermalTake Element Q Mini-ITX Case Review @ OCModShop
Raidmax Atlas Case Review @ Club Overclocker
BitFenix Survivor Mid Tower PC Case Review @ Legit Reviews

Cooling
Corsair A50 CPU Cooler Review @ Tweaknews
Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus Review @ OCC
Cooler Master V6 GT Cooler Review @ Tweaknews

Gaming
SteelSeries 7G Mechanical Gaming Keyboard @ Benchmark Reviews

Memory
Corsair Vengeance Series PC3-12800 12GB Kit @ TweakTown
Kingston HyperX H2O 6GB 2000MHz DDR3 Triple Channel Memory Kit Review @ Futurelooks

Motherboards
ASUS ROG Crosshair IV Extreme AM3 Socket Motherboard @ Pro-Clockers
Gigabyte P67A-UD4 Motherboard @ Hardware Secrets

Power Supplies
AXP SuperNova 1000 Watt Power Supply @ Pro-Clockers

Storage
Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate3.0 @ HardwareBistro
Icy Dock (Cremax) MB668U3-1SB USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Review @ Technic3D
Corsair F40 40GB SSD Review @ OCModShop
OCZ RevoDrive X2 240GB Review @ Kitguru

Video
ASUS GeForce GTX 570 @ PureOverclock
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 @ Techgage

Zotac GeForce GTX 580 1536MB Video Card Review

Just about a month ago NVIDIA announced the new Fermi GF110 GPU and the GeForce GTX 580 video card.  This will be NVIDIA’s new flagship card replacing the older GTX 480.  The GF100 GPU was never what NVIDIA meant it to be and they went back and revised it a little bit for this new line of cards.  This means they were able to achieve higher clock speeds and all 512 CUDA cores are enabled.  Today we will be looking at a reference model from Zotac, the ZT-50101-10P.  Let’s see how this card compares to the competition.