Our Most Recent Reviews
Asus Z77 Roundup
When doing all of our Ivy Bridge launch prep we spent a LOT of time benchmarking and testing a whole collection of boards. You guys have seen our reviews of the Intel and Gigabyte boards. When it came time to write about the four different Asus Z77 boards I realized that most of you are not going to want to read through a lot of information that we would cover over and over on each review. We decided to roundup all four of the boards and cover them together. This way we can get to the point a little quicker, saving you time, as well as giving us a chance to talk more about the differences between the variety of boards that we tested.
ASUS P8 Z68-V/GEN3
Perhaps one of the most daunting tasks after making the decision that you do not wish to purchase an off-the-shelf computer is attempting to figure out which components go in the machine. There are fun aspects, like the graphics card and processor, and then there are the not-so-fun aspects, like the motherboard (at least in my opinion). Why do I think it is a whole lot of not fun? There are so many out there to choose from, with all sorts of features. When shopping you will likely come across the ASUS board that I am going to review today. Arguably, it is one of the better all-around boards out there, with features like good integrated graphics and killer sound. But to a gamer that generally does not mean squat. Does the ASUS P8 Z68-V/GEN3 board have what it takes to function as a serious gaming component? Read on to find out!
XFX R7750 Black Edition DD
Not everyone is looking to spend $500 on their video card, in some cases that is the total budget for a build. When you are up against a wall trying to pack the best performance you can get into a budget build you still want to get the most performance you can out of your video card. That’s where cards like the XFX R7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation come into play. XFX has taken the styling and cooling from their high end cards and combined it with the price of budget cards like the HD 7750. Today we are going to take a look at how those two things do combined in XFX’s R7750 Black Edition Double Dissipation.
Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X
Earlier this year when AMD introduced the HD 7770 we took a look at cards from both Sapphire and XFX. Although we were impressed with the cards performance it was a little ill-timed due to AMD still clearing out discounted back stock. Three months later we are able to revisit the situation with today’s release of Sapphires new HD 7770 Vapor-X. With Sapphires Vapor chamber cooling technology along with a nice overclock over the reference design, the Sapphire HD 7770 Vapor-X could be a great option for a gamer on a limited budget. Let’s take a look.
Motherboard Sizing
When we got in a few oddly sized dual CPU motherboards from EVGA and Asus I posted up a few pictures on our forums and on Facebook. The problem was that even though they looked large there wasn’t any prospective. So we tossed in a couple other boards to give everyone a little perspective. This lead us to digging out even more motherboards to put together all of the standard motherboard sizes all together for everyone to be able to see the differences. Along with the picture we also have a breakdown on the dimensions of each size standard; I hope this helps everyone as some point. Sometimes it can be hard to understand all of the different motherboard sizes and how they all relate.
Android to the Maxx, DROID Razr Maxx
The list of different Android based phones available at any time is both overwhelming and frustrating. It’s almost impossible to get good feedback from friends who have the same phone because of this. So it’s rare than you have any one phone that manages to stand out. Doing something different is the only way to do this normally, but most times this ends off coming off as gimmicky or just lame. When Motorola introduced the Droid Razr Maxx it caught my attention right away. This was just before our trip out to San Francisco for the GTX 680 Editors day, what a better way to put the Maxx’s proposed batter life to the test!
Lian Li PC 100 “The Hammer”
We have had a few different Lian Li chassis come through the LanOC Offices and there hasn’t been a time that we haven’t been impressed with the new and interesting features Lian Li always seems to slip in. When they wanted to ship over their new case “The Hammer” PC 100, we signed up right away. We had seen the case previewed from a few shows prior and this time around Lian Li took a new perspective with its design, I was very interested to see how their changes worked out. Let’s jump in and see what it’s all about!
Nvidia GTX 670
When Nvidia launched Kepler with the GTX 680 I was impressed with the launch price of the card but even at such a great value it is still out of reach for some people. Just because you can’t afford the top card doesn’t mean you don’t want to experience Kepler’s performance. Of course it was only a matter of time before we saw Nvidia filling in the gaps in their product line, starting first with the GTX 690 then going to the next step down from the GTX 680, the GTX 670. Today we get to have a look to see how the performance compares to both the GTX 680 as well as AMD’s offerings. We are also very curious how it compares to the GTX 580, a card that has found its way into most of our office PC’s.
ioSafe Rugged Portable
So you do the smart thing, you backup your data from your laptop and your home PC to an external or network drive and go on with life feeling confident that you have gone well and above what most people do. For the most part, you did. What about when you’re traveling, have you seen how much abuse a device can take when on the go? For some people, and I know I’m one of them, some of the data you carry with you while traveling is more important than the laptop or device that you actually carry it on. In that situation you need a way to not have to worry about your data, no matter the situation, and to have a guarantee to back it up as well. The folks over at ioSafe focus specifically on this crowd. Not only do they offer products that are according to them build to handle almost anything, but they back it up with data recovery if something does happen. Today we are going to take a look at that Rugged Portable hard drive to see what all of the fuss is about, without any more buildup, let’s dig in.
Cooler Master Storm Trigger
Just two years ago the only mechanical keyboards you would find were from companies like DAS keyboard trying to create a nitch market. Over the past two years things have really exploded with every manufacture you can think of introducing their own mechanical keyboards. Cooler Master has been especially aggressive with multiple unique designs like their Quickfire series. What they did lack was a full featured mechanical keyboard with full backlighting, until now. Today they officially introduce their Storm Trigger, although it you look around the board was available Globally before now. With full backlighting it falls into a small category of Mechanical Keyboards with very little competition. I am excited to see how it performs.
Cooler Master HAF XM
The topic of cleaning your computer out came up last week on our forums and it got me thinking about how often I really need to clean out my computer. As it turns out it’s not very often anymore. All because of improvements in case design like fan filters. You don’t really see them on low end cases yet but they have been slowly trickling down. At CES this year we had a chance to get our hands on one of Cooler Master’s upcoming chassis, the HAF XM. A mid-range case packed with the features we have come to love from their high end HAF line. Today we are going to dig into the final product and see how it came out.
Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
Z77 boards come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and prices. Just about every manufacture has a whole lineup of boards covering the whole range to make sure you can find what you are looking for. Gigabyte is no different; they have a whole selection of boards that will fit your needs. Today we are taking a look at their Z77X-UD3H, one of their budget boards. It may not be a high end board but it is still packed with features. I am curious how it will perform now that the cat is out of the bag with Ivy Bridge. Let’s jump in and see what it’s all about.
City of Industry, CA -- June 01, 2010 -- Shuttle, the industry leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance small form factor (SFF) PC solutions and creator of the XPC, today officially unveiled its latest product lineup at the 2010 Computex, Asia's largest and most influential trade show for the computer industry held in Taipei, Taiwan from June 1-5, 2010.
The new line of versatile solutions are purpose-designed for today's computing needs, from Shuttle's unique new energy-saving technology, next generation ultra-slim desktops, smallest yet fastest desktops, and new application prototypes designed for Shuttle brand products to the most up-to-date mobile solutions based on the new Shuttle notebook ecosystem, will be showcased at the show.
"2010 is a breakthrough year for Shuttle. We kept 'We Create' in mind during our development of these attractive and versatile computing solutions to the industry and announced a dual business strategy early this year -- the on-going Shuttle OBM business model and the newly launched revolutionary notebook ODM business model," said David Chen, President and CEO at Shuttle. "It's inspiring to have received numerous positive responses from customers, suppliers, partners, and media around the world. We are confident that the new solutions Shuttle will exhibit at Computex will signify Shuttle's core value -- creating market-oriented innovations."
SHUTTLE SMALL FORM FACTOR SOLUTIONS
SX58J3 - The world's fastest desktop in the smallest enclosure
The highly-anticipated Shuttle XPC small form factors are lined up for Computex. The SX58J3 is based on the Intel(R) X58 c hipset to run the fastest, most extreme Intel(R) Core(TM)i7 processors and supports the world's fastest graphic card -- the NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 480. With support for ATI CrossFireX(TM) and NVIDIA(R) SLI(TM) graphics configurations, it is meant to meet the demands of high performance more than ever before. The new custom-designed interior space across all J Series products allow up to four 2.5-inch hard disk drives and two 3.5-inch hard disk drives at the same time and provides further support for the latest graphics cards in the market.
XS35 - The world's smallest 1-liter slim PC with next-generation NVIDIA(R) ION 2 graphics
The ultra-compact PC platform -- XS35 -- is only one-third the size of the previous generation slim PC. At just 38.5mm (1.5 inches) thin, the slim design is not only space-saving for projects or applications where space is critical, but it fits easily into any environment with the ability to be mounted behind an LCD TV or LCD monitor. It's also completely fanless. The internal layout has been meticulously engineered to require no fan, so it's not only quiet and low in energy use, but also dust-free and virtually maintenance free. Even with the small size, the new XS35 packs in a slim optical drive bay and the next generation NVIDIA(R) ION graphics with true 1080p HDMI output (optional) for a power-packing slim PC.
All-In-One -- X40
The Shuttle all-in-one (AIO) PC is going to add a new face to its lineup. The Shuttle X40 features a clean-lined design and is light in weight. To meet the diverse needs of the AIO market, the X40 is designed for non-touch applications on a 14-inch screen. It features the Intel(R) Atom(TM) platform with an Intel(R) D454/D525 processor and Intel(R) GMA3150 graphics on-board. The X40 also features a simple user interface to make it easy for users to accomplish basic tasks in an effective way. The prototype will be displayed to the world for the first time at Computex.
SHUTTLE NOTEBOOK ECOSYSTEM SOLUTIONS
Shuttle i-Power GXT Mini external graphics solution
Shuttle will also be showcasing new technologies based on the notebook ecosystem. The i-Power GXT Mini is an external graphics device which connects to a Shuttle manufactured notebook through a GXT connector that boosts the performance of a mainstream notebook. More details are available at the booth.
SMART ENERGY-SAVING TECHNOLOGY
Shuttle i-CO2 Technology
Many software applications of high CPU utilization are frequently used in everyday computing today, from watching video and movies on YouTube or watching HD DVD and Blu-ray movies to playing games on Facebook. Shuttle i-CO2 technology is Shuttle's unique new technology designe d to reduce the power consumption of Shuttle PCs by automatically adjusting the CPU performance based on actual operation demand. Once the CPU utilization is maximized, the Shuttle i-CO2 will be automatically disabled to achieve optimal PC performance. With this smart new technology, CPU performance is maximized only when you need it, thereby reducing energy consumption.
* Shuttle i-CO2 technology will be applied to Shuttle manufactured SFFs and notebooks in the future.
For the latest information about Shuttle and Shuttle new products, visit http://us.shuttle.com or follow @ShuttleLabs on Twitter.
The new line of versatile solutions are purpose-designed for today's computing needs, from Shuttle's unique new energy-saving technology, next generation ultra-slim desktops, smallest yet fastest desktops, and new application prototypes designed for Shuttle brand products to the most up-to-date mobile solutions based on the new Shuttle notebook ecosystem, will be showcased at the show.
"2010 is a breakthrough year for Shuttle. We kept 'We Create' in mind during our development of these attractive and versatile computing solutions to the industry and announced a dual business strategy early this year -- the on-going Shuttle OBM business model and the newly launched revolutionary notebook ODM business model," said David Chen, President and CEO at Shuttle. "It's inspiring to have received numerous positive responses from customers, suppliers, partners, and media around the world. We are confident that the new solutions Shuttle will exhibit at Computex will signify Shuttle's core value -- creating market-oriented innovations."
SHUTTLE SMALL FORM FACTOR SOLUTIONS
SX58J3 - The world's fastest desktop in the smallest enclosure
The highly-anticipated Shuttle XPC small form factors are lined up for Computex. The SX58J3 is based on the Intel(R) X58 c hipset to run the fastest, most extreme Intel(R) Core(TM)i7 processors and supports the world's fastest graphic card -- the NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 480. With support for ATI CrossFireX(TM) and NVIDIA(R) SLI(TM) graphics configurations, it is meant to meet the demands of high performance more than ever before. The new custom-designed interior space across all J Series products allow up to four 2.5-inch hard disk drives and two 3.5-inch hard disk drives at the same time and provides further support for the latest graphics cards in the market.
XS35 - The world's smallest 1-liter slim PC with next-generation NVIDIA(R) ION 2 graphics
The ultra-compact PC platform -- XS35 -- is only one-third the size of the previous generation slim PC. At just 38.5mm (1.5 inches) thin, the slim design is not only space-saving for projects or applications where space is critical, but it fits easily into any environment with the ability to be mounted behind an LCD TV or LCD monitor. It's also completely fanless. The internal layout has been meticulously engineered to require no fan, so it's not only quiet and low in energy use, but also dust-free and virtually maintenance free. Even with the small size, the new XS35 packs in a slim optical drive bay and the next generation NVIDIA(R) ION graphics with true 1080p HDMI output (optional) for a power-packing slim PC.
All-In-One -- X40
The Shuttle all-in-one (AIO) PC is going to add a new face to its lineup. The Shuttle X40 features a clean-lined design and is light in weight. To meet the diverse needs of the AIO market, the X40 is designed for non-touch applications on a 14-inch screen. It features the Intel(R) Atom(TM) platform with an Intel(R) D454/D525 processor and Intel(R) GMA3150 graphics on-board. The X40 also features a simple user interface to make it easy for users to accomplish basic tasks in an effective way. The prototype will be displayed to the world for the first time at Computex.
SHUTTLE NOTEBOOK ECOSYSTEM SOLUTIONS
Shuttle i-Power GXT Mini external graphics solution
Shuttle will also be showcasing new technologies based on the notebook ecosystem. The i-Power GXT Mini is an external graphics device which connects to a Shuttle manufactured notebook through a GXT connector that boosts the performance of a mainstream notebook. More details are available at the booth.
SMART ENERGY-SAVING TECHNOLOGY
Shuttle i-CO2 Technology
Many software applications of high CPU utilization are frequently used in everyday computing today, from watching video and movies on YouTube or watching HD DVD and Blu-ray movies to playing games on Facebook. Shuttle i-CO2 technology is Shuttle's unique new technology designe d to reduce the power consumption of Shuttle PCs by automatically adjusting the CPU performance based on actual operation demand. Once the CPU utilization is maximized, the Shuttle i-CO2 will be automatically disabled to achieve optimal PC performance. With this smart new technology, CPU performance is maximized only when you need it, thereby reducing energy consumption.
* Shuttle i-CO2 technology will be applied to Shuttle manufactured SFFs and notebooks in the future.
For the latest information about Shuttle and Shuttle new products, visit http://us.shuttle.com or follow @ShuttleLabs on Twitter.
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