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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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CES 2011: Nyko Technologies Unveils New Product Arsenal

LAS VEGAS - January 6, 2011

Nyko Technologies®, the leading videogame peripherals manufacturer, today debuted its full lineup of new products at the Consumer Electronics Show 2011 in Las Vegas. In addition to the previously announced Raven controllers for PS3 and Charge Stations for Move, the following lineup of brand new videogame accessories will be on display for exclusive hands-on demo:

Power Shot for Move
The Power Shot for PlayStation® Move is an ergonomic tactical rifle attachment. The Move Motion and Navigation controllers easily lock into place for a comfortable grip that provides for accurate trigger response and aiming. The removable and rotating Navigation Controller dock allows the player to hold the Power Shot in various configurations, making it ideal for left and right handed gamers. The tactile trigger replicates the Motion Controller button for smooth firing and the aiming sight increases the player's accuracy. The Power Shot also features an extendable stock, allowing for utmost stability and precision during intense action games.

The Power Shot will be available at select retail stores nationwide in March 2011.

Perfect Shot for Move
A traditional one handed pistol-like grip for PlayStation® Move, the new Perfect Shot is the ideal shooting attachment for games that only require the Motion controller. Featuring a grooved dock into which the Motion Controller slides into place, the Perfect Shot is designed to be lightweight and ergonomic for comfortable one handed play. Vibration support provides force feedback with each trigger pull. The peripheral's shape affords unobstructed line of sight for the Motion controller glowing ball, thus allowing accurate and uninterrupted motion tracking.

The Perfect Shot for Move, available in a black and orange color scheme, will be sold at select retail stores nationwide in March 2011.

Perfect Shot Pro
The descendant of the original Perfect Shot for Wii, one of Nyko's best-selling products of all time, the new Perfect Shot Pro for Wii is the refined evolution of the original Perfect Shot. The Perfect Shot Pro now features vibration support to provide force feedback with each pull of the trigger. The Perfect Shot Pro is the ideal peripheral for all shooting games on the Wii and comfortably houses a Wii controller. The tactile trigger activates the "B" button and an aiming sight improves player accuracy.

The Perfect Shot Pro for Wii, available in white, black and orange, and a new digital camo color scheme will be available at stores nationwide in April 2011 and will retail for an MSRP of $19.99.

Intercooler STS
Utilize Nyko’s cutting edge TempSmart™ technology to keep your Xbox 360 S console running at optimal environmental conditions with the Intercooler STS. The Intercooler STS provides increased airflow away from the Xbox 360 S, which allows the console to perform in a cooler, better ventilated environment, ideal for cramped entrainment centers. TempSmart technology automatically powers the Intercooler STS' fans on or off when needed, and continues to cool the console even after the system has been powered down. The Intercooler STS is powered by one of the Xbox's USB ports and requires no batteries or AC adapters. The slick new "scoop" design blends seamlessly with the design of the Xbox 360 S console and works in both the horizontal and vertical positions.

The Intercooler STS will be available at select retail stores nationwide in February 2011 and will retail for an MSRP of $19.99.

Charge Base S
The new Charge Base S for Xbox 360 is a refresh of another one of Nyko's most popular products of all time. With a sleek redesign, the Charge Base S is a storage and charging dock for two Xbox 360 wireless controllers. The Charge Base S patented design features two custom NiMH rechargeable batteries that feature special contact points, allowing for an easy drop-in and charge solution. The dual port recharging dock is AC powered and plugs into any standard outlet. Each rechargeable battery powers the wireless controller for up to 25 hours and charges in about 2 hours. A hidden LED indicator on the Charge Base S illuminates when in use and indicates battery charge status.

The Charge Base S also features an additional new powered USB port, ideal for charging an additional controller, cell phone, iPod or other USB device.

The Charge Base S will be available at retail stores nationwide in March 2011 and will retail for an MSRP of $24.99.

“Each year we look forward to debuting our new product line at CES and we're proud to be back again with something new for each console," said Chris Arbogast, director of marketing at Nyko Technologies. “We're seeing an extended console lifecycle this generation and so our new product line this year is a combination of brand new products and evolved versions of our most popular accessories from the current console generation."

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CES 2011: Nyko Technologies Unveils New Product Arsenal

LAS VEGAS - January 6, 2011

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