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.
With the XP2-6400 Mushkin has released their second generation of DDR2-800 memory. The memory comes with default timings of 4-4-3-10, which is a good deal better than most of the competition. The elegant black heatspreaders add to the look of this memory. But this memory is not only about looks. The timings can be tightened down to 3-2-2-4. Relaxing them has an even better surprise for you - we reached DDR2-1104 at CL5.
Thermaltake with its well known Aquabay series has added a HDD water cooler to its list of offerings for their water cooling kits. The new cooler is dubbed the M4 which is the next number in line for the Aquabay series. With the addition of this new HDD water cooler it opens a new debate as well "Do I really need to water cool my HDD?" We'll try to answer that question as we review the Thermaltake Aquabay M4.
The Aspire X-QPack is a unique case, which has everything the gamer is looking for. It is small and portable, thanks to the integrated handle and has all the room one could need. The small power supply still packs a punch and can power all the latest hardware with its 420W. But Aspire did not stop there - they included a 12 cm blue LED fan, as well as thermal probes so you can keep an eye on your temps while playing your favourite games at a LAN party. We crammed the case completely full, using every last screw that was included and checked out how it performed.
This press presentation from NVIDIA talks about the upcoming nForce 500 Series chipsets. One interesting feature is SLI Memory (EPP Memory) which has been developed together with Corsair. Another highlight is the new networking support in nForce500 which offers dual Gigabit with technology that makes you "King of Ping" and also lets you link together two GigE links. You want RAID with 6 SATA drives? That's possible with nForce 500 too.
The X1800 GTO cards use regular X1800XL chips with just 12 rasterizing pipelines instead of 16. Clocks are still at 500 MHz for both memory and core. We tested this card and found it is an overclocker's dream. Even though we could not unlock the extra pipelines, the card still overclocks very well, in our case to over 700 MHz on air cooling.
SteelPad have been around for some time now and have an excellent reputation for producing high quality mouse pads. The SteelSeries SteelPad QcK+ is made with the gamer or graphics designer in mind. This pad offers so much surface area that you will never run out of space when things get hectic. The fabric used ensures high precision in all scenarios, even the highest resolutions on optical mice. Another plus is that this nice pad comes at a bargain price of under $15.
The OCZ Rally USB Stick revolutionized performance of USB sticks. Now OCZ has released another stick called the Mini Kart which is optimized for size and ultra-portability. The stick which comes in a 512 MB, 1 GB and 2 GB version has a height of only 2.8 mm. Small enough to carry it around in your wallet. Considering how thin the Mini Kart is, we tested its strength using the weight of OCZ's latest PSU hooked to the end of the USB stick to see if the stick would snap.
AData is well-known in the overclocking scene as a high-quality memory brand which offers good overclocking on all their memory modules. We have their Vitesta DDR2-800 kit on the testbench and were impressed that it could be overclocked to DDR2-900 without any problems. Even though the default timings of 5-5-5-15 are a bit slow, they can be tightened down to 3-2-2-4 when running lower clocks. Another plus is that this memory will work great even at stock voltage of 1.8V.
XTracPads is known to produce some of the absolute best performing cloth mats on the market and they have specialized accessories to suit even the most demanding gamer. Over the last years they have produced a variety of different mats, right from the Micro hard plastic mat up to this new Ripper XXL measuring in at an astounding 914mm width, 457mm height. Yes, that's right. You can put your keyboard on it and still have plenty of space for the mouse.
