A while ago the Diamond Viper X1900XT was the lowest priced X1900XT card from all manufacturers and is still one of the lowest priced cards available today. Diamond Multimedia has produced modems, sound cards and MP3 players. One of the first consumer MP3 players ever was called the Rio PMP300. They have since sold their MP3 player line, but still offer a range of multimedia products. In this review we'll take a look at this X1900XT offering from Diamond Multimedia along with some basic X1900XT functionality and overclocking tips.
The Silverstone TJ08 is a great little case at first sight. The front is incredibly well made and looks quite nice. The case can fit a mATX board and standard power supply. On second look however, the case exhibits some horrid paint and built quality. It costs twice as much as some from the competition and one is hard pressed to find any reason to recommend the Silverstone TJ08 case over much cheaper and even better variants.
Today we look at the Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 Pro Gamer Edition headset. Not only does it come with all the cables and a tiny but effective power supply, but with a perfect bag which makes the journey to the next LAN party a breeze. The suède feel of the headset makes it incredibly comfortable and it definitely has the sound to make your scariest games even scarier and give you the 5.1 surround sound you need to excel at your next LAN Party.
The Cooler Master Centurion 540 is a mATX case with a sleek aluminum front, sporting very nice blue LEDs and a black fan grill. While the outside appearance leaves nothing to be desired, the inside does not disappoint either. The hardware installation is a breeze and the great fan mounting positions make it an ideal candidate for water cooling. The case definitely has the Cooler Master quality, but still a very affordable price tag.
The Thermaltake MUSE LanDisk is an external enclosure for one 3.5" HDD. In addition to USB connections it also supports 10/100 MBit Ethernet making this a nice entry-level NAS system. The installation is extremely easy and can be performed without tools in a few minutes. When connected to the Ethernet interface a nice and easy to use web-based configuration page is available to change the settings.
At Computex we saw a lot of pretty asian girls. Every big manufacturer had something to catch the eye of the visitor. The girls were presenting products, handing out information or performing dance shows. We have 190 pictures of them. For your extra viewing experience we also posted the full-size 8 megapixel images straight from the camera.
Lian-Li is known for the great computer cases they make. Now they offer the new V series of cases, but even the classic ones have not remained unchanged. The Lian-Li PC-G50 may look absolutely tiny and cute from the outside with its perfect, sturdy build quality and paint job. Given the small size we were surprised that we could stuff a full sized ATX board equipped with a huge CPU cooler into the case comfortably and managed to keep it all cool with the two included 12cm fans.
ECS had many new Intel motherboards in all price classes. All of them support Conroe so you will be able to play with it for just a few bucks for the motherboard. On the AM2 front many products have been outfitted with the new socket. Products are based on NVIDIA, VIA, AMD and SIS chipsets giving you the whole lineup from high-end enthusiast down to budget as cheap as possible.
Arctic Cooling displayed their new PSU project at the show. They emphasize extremely high power conversion efficiency, up to 90%. Another product was the Fusion Supporter which improves the voltage quality and stability of your video card.
At DFI the highlight was of course the new NVIDIA nForce590 based motherboard for AM2. The LanParty UT NF590 SLI-M2R/G is the first enthusiast motherboard to support Digital PWM using a special circuitry that enhances the power supplied to the CPU. Also new is an ATI RD580 Crossfire motherboard using the new SB600, a new copper cooler for the chipset and an additional SATA-II controller by Promise.
At Computex Thermalright has a prototype of a TEC waterchiller. Regular coolers can be seen too, but it's mainly sized up versions of existing coolers. New is a memory cooler and a video card cooler. Also there is a concept of a video card cooler with an external heatsink.
Thermaltake has released more products than any other manufacturer at Computex. Among the highlights are a huge home theater case which looks like a big audio rack and has space for two systems. For visitors of lan parties a Shuttle-like case is offered which takes all standard size components and supports SLI. Several new watercooling products have been announced, including a watercooled passive PSU. A whole load of air and watercooled GPU coolers are new too.
A-DATA is one of the first memory manufacturers to show off DDR3 memory. Even though it is still a while away, this is a good step to be able to deliver once the platforms start appearing - which will be sooner as everybody thought. Other new products are geared towards improving your USB stick or SD card experience. For example an SD card with integrated USB connector has been developed.
At GEIL you could see the first DDR4 modules. Also on display was a super fast AM2 rig with memory running at 1200 MHz, CL4. For users of SD cards a card has been developed which is completely waterproof and burn-proof.
At the small form factor specialists Silverstone we saw a case the size of a Shuttle which uses only standard components and has suport for SLI. Another novelty were cases which are made from only one piece of aluminum. Last but not least there was a new 850W PSU on display.
The PSU experts at Topower have been making power supplies for 20 years now. Their new products are made to improve your power supply experience. One is an easy to use cable which filters power to the video card and also protects from overcurrent and overvoltage. Another one is a special add-on power supply which can boost your total wattage by 420W each per unit added.
At Scythe we saw new CPU coolers for AM2 of course. Another novelty was a behemoth of a VGA cooler, which is probably the biggest video card cooler ever made. Another cool toy is a universal USB adapter which lets you use 3.5", 2.5" and SATA HDDs on your USB port - all with one small adapter.
Zalman had an awesome HTPC on display. It comes with an integrated 7" touchscreen TFT. The display has a native resolution of 1024x768 which makes everything crystal clear. A more affordable version of that case comes without LCD screen but is low-profile and takes up to six harddisks. The cooling products have been improved as well. Here we see coolers for AM2 and a new Fatal1ty VGA cooler.
NVIDIA's Quad-SLI was released only for system integrators. The first retails cards for enthusiasts are showing up now. The new name is 7950GX2 and it means smaller PCB and optimized design for self-builders. In our preview we show what NVIDIA has thought up this time and if it is something that you should look into for your gaming rig.
Soundgraph was established in 2000 as a spinoff from Samsung. Their latest product is the SoundGraph iMON 2.4G series of remote controls. Unlike traditional infrared remotes they use 2.4 GHz wireless. The advantage of this is that it will work through walls and you don't have to point the remote at the receiver. Even though the 2.4 GHz band is used there were no problems running with an active wireless LAN nearby.
QPAD's new XT-R gaming surface features an arched design which gives you more usable area for your mouse. The mat is made from hard plastic Carbytek and offers extreme precision for high-speed gaming. We evaluate the gaming performance against the Razer Mantis and the SteelPad 5L to see what kind of difference it makes.
The Thermaltake mini is a watercooling system with an interesting new design. The external radiator looks like a speaker and is 80 cm tall, two pumps are integrated there as well. As we know from Thermaltake installation is exceptionally easy. In our testing we check out how well it cools an overclocked Celeron and an Intel Xeon hot head.
Sunbeam Tech was founded in 2000. They specialize in computer accessories, and some hardware. Sunbeam is known for their case lights and cooling products, including the well known Tuniq Tower. Today we have the Sunbeam Silent Storm on the test bench. It features a clean office look and a big "Core fan" which improves air flow through your case.
Today NVIDIA launched their nForce 500 Family chipsets for the AMD AM2 Socket. There will be four models to allow a wide range of motherboard products from budget to high-end for enthusiasts. A lot of new features have been introduced like SLI Memory, First Packet, DualNet and Media Shield. Read our preview to find out what the new nForce500 offers.
The Soundgraph iMON VFD is the perfect accessory to turn your normal PC into a HTPC. The set is made of a bright and responsive VFD with an integrated volume control and large infrared remote control. Soundgraph has produced a solid gadget and has thought out an ingenious installation system. The software is incredibly easy to set up and use. The remote enables total control over the PC, while the VFD displays much more than just song titles and PC information.
