VisionTek Products, LLC today announced the North American launch of the CandyBoard their wireless mini keyboard with integrated touch pad, with plug & play 2.4GHz frequency USB dongle. The keyboard is slightly bigger than the classic American candy bar and complements your collection of typical home remote controls. It features 69 keys and a "capacitive-sensing" touchpad that's comparable to a real notebook touchpad, which eliminates the need for a separate mouse. The media center PC is becoming the in-home library for movie storage and play back, creating a need for smaller and more efficient remote navigation. The VisionTek CandyBoard features backlit LEDs keys to use in low-light environments, making it a perfect complement to any home theater PC or family room game console.

The VisionTek CandyBoard is the perfect HTPC accessory and offers full Windows Media compatibility. "The integration between your home computer and your television entertainment system creates a need for more mobile and user-friendly peripherals." Stated, Mark Bilson, VP of Sales. "Web based content has ballooned in the last year and only promises to explode in the next decade. I can honestly envision a CandyBoard in every family room across America." In addition to compatibility with the PC, the VisionTek CandyBoard is fully compatible with Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The need for text and search capabilities in the console environment is magnified, as more web based content becomes readily available via these platforms. Compatibility doesn't stop with the PC and console, the CandyBoard is also compatible with Mac systems and Linux based environments too.

TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphics cards, today announced improved gaming performance for HTPC gamers. The PowerColor HD5750 Low Profile Edition is specifically designed for those with HTPC systems or limited space chassis' who desire the upgraded graphics performance without having to compromise their system size.

The PowerColor HD5750 Low Profile Edition is equipped with a dual fan design and heatsinks that fully cover GPU, memory and MOSFET. The design cools temperatures and dissipates heat for vital components within a limited space. Furthermore, by taking advantage of the low profile design, this unique solution can be used for small form factor and slim systems, maximizing the rig's performance in a limited space.

Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd. launches its PC-C50 multimedia HTPC chassis - a combination of modern functionality and hair-line brushed anodized aluminum finishing outlook perfectly for the home theatre décor and friendly for the end-users. The PC-C50 stands at 445x167x325mm (W. H.D) and weighs only in 3.20kgs. Available in black and silver colors, the PC-C50 case supports Micro ATX/Mini DTX/Mini ITX motherboards. The chassis is designed with unique modular CD-ROM cage and HDD cages that can be arranged by users' needs. Making it most convenient, the PC-C50 offers three USB3.0, HD audio and e-SATA I/O ports, as well as a MS/SD card reader slot, right at the front of the chassis for easy access.

The ideal cooling the Lian Li's PC-C50 has incorporated two 120mm exh aust fans on the side, PCI brackets with vent holes for extra cooling, as well as the power supply unit at the bottom to draw in cold air directly. Two 120mm and 80mm-size fan holes on the top and at the rear, respectively, are also available for additional fans. The Lian Li PC-C50 HTPC chassis has one 5.25" external drive bay, the modular drive cages support three 3.5" HDDs and three 2.5" HDDs. There are four expansion slots available.

Prolimatech's latest creation is an HTPC-friendly low-profile CPU heatsink named Samuel 17, after the Biblical Old Testament chapter with the story of David and Goliath. The cooler uses a CPU base in which six nickel-plated copper heat pipes make direct contact with the processor, and convey heat to a dense aluminum fin array that propagates along the plane of the motherboard. On this, users can install a 120 mm fan. The heatsink measures 92 x 45 x 82 mm, weighing 410 g. It supports all current sockets including LGA 1366, LGA 1156, LGA 775, AM3/AM2(+). It is expected to be priced at 40 Euros when it goes on sale.

Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd. announces the TYR PC-X2000F chassis. The TYR line is designed to stand out in your living room in unmistakable Lian Li style. Taking the original concept of low profile and slim designs and turning it completely around; there is no need to hide TYR line cases with their sleek Anodized Aluminum Finishes, giving them the resemblance of multimedia speakers. The new TYR PC-X2000F is set to build on the line's success and become the most unique HTPC/gaming chassis on the market today. Allowing unprecedentedly high performance components to be encompassed into the home theater environment without compromising looks or appeal, the new TYR PC-X2000F is definitely worthy of the Lian Li label.

The stylish and unique side panels accept four 5.25" Optical Device Drives (ODD) and one 3.5" drive with tool-less, sliding mounts that can be placed on either the left or right side, while the front face is for ergonomics and airflow. Unlike Lian Li's previously released TYR PC-X2000 that had only two 5.25" ODDs, the new TYR PC-X2000F splits the HDD bays between the upper and lower thermal zones for more efficient cooling. Furthermore, the TYR PC-X2000F's tool-less HDD mounting racks support seven SAS hot swappable HDDs, another increase over the X2000. The spacious interior can accommodate virtually any system you can think of.

Lian Li Industrial Co. Ltd Ltd, today officially launches the PITSTOP T1 Mini-ITX Spider Test Bench 2010 Special Edition, promising to be an eye-catching and most innovative testing bench in the industry. Uniquely designed with spider's four legs and M/B tray completely angle-adjustable available in red, silver and black colors, Lian Li's PC-T1 is most ideal for hardware enthusiast looking to display an impressive computer system for the next LAN Party or to challenge family and friends with a unique looking HTPC.

After the PC-777 snail shell design and the PC-888 sail design, the PC-T1 challenges again the concept of how a PC case has to look. Since its first appearance at CeBIT 2010, Lian Li's T1 mini-ITX Spider Test Bench has caused a great sensation and whirlwind of inquires.

Thermaltake, leading DIY thermal solutions brand, launch their all-new low profile CPU especially targeting Home Theater PC users, the Thermaltake SlimX3. Since for Home Theater PCs usually small and mini size cases are used, the CPU cooler performance is of utmost importance, it has to come with a very small footprint in order to fit into the case, but at the same time offer sufficient cooling capacity in a silent environment.

The SlimX3 adopts two Φ6 mm Copper heat-pipes with an aluminum fins/base combination to provide a highly effective cooling performance for multimedia oriented CPUs. Through the heat-pipe design better heat conductivity is achieved to accelerate heat dissipation. With its slim design with a total height of only 36 mm the SlimX3 is optimized and ideal for use in most mini cases.

Following AMD's launch of the 890GX chipset which marked the entry of certain new features native to the chipset, the company is readying a slightly scaled-down version of it aimed at more mainstream consumers, business PC users, as well as HTPC and home PC users. The AMD 880G succeeds the 780G is being a mid-range integrated graphics chipset that supports a range of new features using the SB800 series southbridge chips.

While the 880G is based on essentially the same chip (RS880) as the 890GX, certain features such as ATI CrossFire are disabled, and board makers are directed to use this chipset on micro-ATX form-factor designs. The 880G northbridge packs an RV620-core based ATI Radeon HD 4250 IGP which supports DirectX 10.1, with 40 stream processors, and DDR3 SidePort memory support apart from the usual UMA. The IGP supports native HD video decode features, as well as HDMI with on-chip 7.1 channel audio. While the chipset supports one PCI-Express 2.0 x16 link for discrete graphics, it also gives out PCI-Express 2.0 x1, x4 lanes from the northbridge. Additional controllers such as USB 3.0 can benefit from a direct PCI-E 2.0 path. The SB800 class southbridge has a native 6 channel SATA 6 Gb/s controller complete with RAID support.

SPARKLE Computer Co., Ltd., the professional VGA card manufacturer and supplier, today unveils the SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Low Profile Silent Series Graphics Cards with low profile design, addressing, fulfilling and exceeding the HTPC users' demand on silent working, power consumption and HD video in small HTPC cases.

The SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Silent Series Graphics Cards are a half-height video cards suitable for small form-factor, book size and home theatre PCs users that desperately want a dedicated HDMI jack on the cheap.The SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Silent Series Graphics Cards can be easily installed in narrow space HTPC chassis. So the SPARKLE GeForce 210/GT220/GT240 Silent Series Graphics Cards not only can easily meet the HD video playback and DX10.1 gaming demand from HTPC users, but also can easily satisfy the requirements from SSF, mini-chassis and industry PCs which demand compact and practical graphics cards.

Shuttle caught our eye with their external graphics card system called the i-Power GXT Mini, which routes the PCIe slot (as x1) to an external enclosure in which you can put any single slot GPU with a power draw of up to 90W. The system currently only works with two Shuttle notebooks, but the company will expand the range of notebooks in the future. They are also showing off their extremely compact and fanless HTPC based on ION2. It is a bit larger than a 3.5 inch hard drive enclosure, but packs all the components. A quick look at the rear shows four USB 2.0 ports and HDMI along with the the rest of usual connectivity.

While not planned, we spontaneously stopped by the Icy Dock booth here at CeBIT and they have a few interesting products on display. First off, there is an external dock which allows you to use SATA, IDE or floppy drives. This is nothing new, but the shape of the device certainly is. Then there is an internal dual drive bay, which utilizes a single 5.25 inch bay and converts them into a single 3.5 and additional 2.5 inch hot-swappable bay. This is not only a space saver, but certainly useful as well. Last, but not least there is the external, dual 5.25 inch enclosure, which does not only look nice, but allows you to expand that ION based HTPC very nicely with additional storage an an optical drive of your choice.

Leading mainboard and graphics card maker, MSI, launches their brand new 890GXM-G65 mainboard using the AMD 890GX chipset to fulfill the increasing demand for perfect Home Theatre Personal Computers (HTPC). In addition to tailoring the latest AMD Phenom II processors, the 890GXM-G65 provides full support for the DirectX 10.1 and UVD 2.0 multimedia standards to significantly enhance high-definition audio and video effects. Along with a wide variety of output interfaces, exclusive MSI technology, and native SATA 6Gb/s and USB3.0 interfaces, the AMD 890GXM-G65 allows users to build a quality HTPC combining high performance and high stability.

MSI has specifically equipped the AMD 800 Series with the latest OC Genie Lite easy-overclocking technology to meet the multimedia requirements of power users. By launching the BIOS Setup, consumers can use the OC Genie Lite to automatically adjust the CPU and IGP clock to enhance overall performance to 15%* in order to experience and enjoy optimal performance at your fingertips with neither special computer knowledge nor additional expense.

Thermaltake, leading brand manufacturer of power supplies, cases and cooling solutions, today announced their latest additon to the Litepower series of entry-level power supplies. The Thermaltake Litepower 350W, 450W and 550W are specifically targeting energy efficient PC systems with lower overall power consumption in application fields such as HTPCs, office and entertainment computers. While out-of-this-world high-end PC configurations freuquently require a nuclear power plant of your own in the living room, small form factor setups simply don't. In fact for HTPC-like computers it is important to have shorter and fewer cables to easier keep order within the case and maintain as much open space as possible for an optimized air flow. The Thermaltake Litepower series now offers you all these characteristics.

The new 350W (W0363 & W0367),450W (W0361 & W0362), and 550W(W0369) PSUs comply to the latest ATX 12V V2.2 Standard for utmost reliability and compatibility supporting state-of-the-art Intel and AMD processor and graphics technologies. With Over Voltage, Over Power and Short-Circuit protection the Litepower series offers industry grade protection. Furthermore Japanese made capacitors for mission-critical device parts improve overall solidity. Energy efficiency is improved and power current load on the AC delivery systems is reduced through the implementation of active Power Factor Correction (PFC).

Leading graphics card and motherboard manufacturer, MSI, is launching today R5570-MD1G graphics card in low-profile design to meet the demands of home theatre personal computer (HTPC) users. Powered by ATI Radeon HD 5570 GPU supporting DirectX 11 and Dolby 7.1 channels loss-less surround stereo and equipped with HDMI output for Full HD movie playback, MSI R5570-MD1G is featured with the compact size benefited from the low-profile design, making the product the best-ever choice for building any HTPC.

The brand new MSI R5570-MD1G features as low-profile design to fit the HTPC conventionally with limited space, especially for smaller or slim cases. On the other hand, the low-profile design is good for thermal dissipation to facilitate interior air ventilation. Ultimately, the mini size of R5570-MD1G makes installation much easier and more convenient.

World-leading graphics card and mainboard manufacture, MSI, officially launches the silent graphics card series, R5450-MD1GH and R5450-MD512H, to fulfill the demand from more and more home theatre PC (HTPC) users. Featuring ATi Radeon HD 5450 GPU and supporting DirectX 11 and ATi AVIVO HD technologies, these two silent graphics cards from MSI are the total solutions for gaming and audio & video playback. Furthermore, the fan-less, native HDMI and low-profile designs are customized for HTPCs, so that both models are prime choices for building a home theatre.

Followed by Intel recent 32nm "Clarkdale" Core i5 / i3 processor launch with built-in GPU engine, it is now a brand new page and competition for all-in-one PC. BIOSTAR, a professional manufacturer of motherboards after its top-line H55 motherboards "TH55XE" being released, today we see another main stream board "TH55B HD" in the market remains high quality component design, outstanding over clocking capabilities and new colorful slots. And of course, it also offers more competitive prices.

"TH55B HD" - a member of BIOSTAR famous "T-Series" with Micro ATX form factor design, black color PCB, and supporting latest Intel 32nm "Clarkdale" Core i5 / i3 processor.

ASUS' Eee Box EB1501 nettop released late last year got a Blu-ray variant with the EB1501-B0367. This variant has a slot-in Blu-ray drive, and is geared to be an aesthetic HTPC companion when paired with an external HDD. The Eee Box EB1501 is based on the NVIDIA ION platform, it which makes use of an Intel Atom 330 dual-core processor along with NVIDIA ION chipset. The chipset embeds GeForce 9400M graphics, which accelerates HD video, and can handle Blu-ray playback, and 1080p displays. Other specifications include 320 GB of storage, 2 GB of DDR2 memory, HDMI and D-Sub for display connectivity, WiFi, and Windows 7 Home Premium OS. It is expected to be priced at $620.

Targeting HTPC buffs, Enermax rolled out its Aurora Micro Wireless keyboard. The device combines a compact keyboard with a high-precision trackball. Measuring 319 x 193 x 33 mm and weighing 800 g, the keyboard has a brushed metal shell, with diamond-cut edges. Being a micro keyboard, it trades the number pad for compactness. Some of the important keys are LED illuminated for convenience in the typically dark HTPC room. Besides the 7 hotkeys, there is a full-fledged high-precision trackball with a 1200 dpi sensor, two buttons, and a 2-way scroll-wheel. The wireless technology operates in the 2.4 GHz range, with an operating range of 10 m. The keyboard is powered by two AA batteries. On sale now, the Enermax Aurora Micro Wireless is selling for 75 EUR.

Sharkoon's newest entry to its case lineup is the Temptation. This slightly cubical case supports micro-ATX form factor motherboards and sits somewhere between being an HTPC case, and a LAN-party case. It measures 245 x 310 x 445 (WxHxD) mm, and weights 4.8 kg. It holds two 5.25" drive bays, one exposed and four internal 3.5" bays. Ventilation is care of a porus side grille, and mounts for two 120 mm fans, one on the rear, and one on a side. Ports for water-cooling tubing are provided. The entire chassis is fabricated with aluminum, and has a premium aluminum front-bezel. Sharkoon Temptation is priced at around 65€.

ASUS today announced the launch of a series of specially-developed motherboards that lets theater-sound aficionados and audiophiles build their dream home-theater PC. The ASUS Absolute Pitch Series features three audio technologies for different forms of aural enjoyment. The DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC delivers theater-like sound on modest equipment for an affordable, full-range sound, ENVY HD delivers a comprehensive 10 channels of audio output for a professional audio experience, and BD 192/24 delivers high-fidelity Blu-ray decoding for a dynamic sound output similar to a live entertainment experience.

Case and power specialist SilverStone announced its latest HTPC case, the GD03, which will reach stores soon. The case features in the company's elite Grandia series of HTPC cases, and supports an ATX motherboard with seven expansion slots. Measuring 425mm (W)x182.2mm (H)x436mm (D), the GD03 weighs 7.85 kg (17.3 lbs). The front panel is made of brushed aluminum, while the rest of the case with SECC. It sports two external 5.25" drive bays, three external 3.5" bays of which two allow hard-drive hot-swapping. There are three 80 mm fans to cool this case, positioned in the front (HDD area), rear, and side. A standard ATX power supply fits in the PSU bay. The GD03 is expected to cost around 190 Euro.

Antec, Inc., the global leader in high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself markets, today announced the Mini Skeleton-90, the Mini-ITX model of Antec's popular Skeleton case. The Mini Skeleton-90 is the first open-air enclosure designed exclusively for Mini-ITX motherboards, and offers unique cooling, flexibility and style for small form factor systems. Providing high levels of cooling, the Mini Skeleton-90 features a top-mounted 150mm TriCool blue LED fan and a rear 70 mm fan, while the open-air frame enables greater airflow than traditional enclosures. The removable component tray provides quick, convenient access to components and allows for efficient cable routing which prevents wires from impeding airflow.

While the Raven series was the only case with the unique layout up to this point, Silverstone has put the new guts not only into the Raven 2, but also into the Fortress 2 (FT02). It will come in black or silver at a price tag of around 200 US Dollars. Then there is the GD04, which is an affordable mATX HTPC case. The unique aspect is certainly the short depth of the chassis, so it should fit well into your A/V rack. The GD04 will sell for 99 US Dollars. The GD05 is similar, but features a plastic front, lined with a thin sheet of aluminum. This drives the price down to 79 US Dollars.

There are a few new CPU coolers on display at the Glacialtech booth here at Computex. The first is the F101, which comes with a 120 mm fan. It has a unique shape, as part of the cooler hovers over the chipset. Then you have the mainstream coolers, with prices starting at around 25 US Dollars. These should be great alternatives to the boxed CPU coolers. They are also presenting a new fans, with the aim to deliver silent performance - simply called "the silent blade" series with the companies own fan blade design.

ASUS, the world's leading producer of motherboards, today released its new M4A78-HTPC Series motherboards that are developed specifically for use in Home Theater Personal Computers (HTPCs). HTPCs have become more prevalent due to the vast popularity of the Internet and the ease with which content can be found, downloaded and viewed. Also, the chipset technology that supports Full HD 1080p is maturing, and large-sized widescreen LCD monitors are becoming more mainstream-allowing users to download and watch HD videos directly on their PCs. M4A78-HTPC Series motherboards are based on the AMD 780G chipset, which fully integrates HDMI/DVI support to display HD videos smoothly. Together with audio innovations like the ASUS Absolute Pitch Hi-Fi and DTS Surround Sensation UltraPC Technology, audiophiles can look forward to pure, crystal-clear sound for the most exhilarating HTPC enjoyment. Furthermore, M4A78-HTPC Series motherboards come with a user-friendly media center dubbed Home Theater Gate and a low-noise, energy efficient Tranquil Mode that offer users greater convenience and a more conducive music environment respectively.