Content and news by Rob Williams

One stumbling block Shuttle faces in marketing the SD11G5 is price. A search of online retailers shows it to retail at around the £340 mark. That’s a lot of wedge to pay for a motherboard, case (albeit a stylish one), and cooler. There’s also the lack of relative gaming performance from the onboard graphics. Playing any modern game is an absolute no-no, as far as we’re concerned. Shuttle, though, is aiming the SD11G5 at style gurus and those interested in an ultra-quiet, powerful machine. In that respect and if you can put up with the price, it succeeds well.

HTPC cases are becoming all the rage it seems. Check out one of the kings over at Hexus.

As for the resolution tests the raptor performs well at 1024-768 and also 1280-1024 at 1600-1200 there was a notable speed decrease ad I had to again adjust the mouse settings in the game options, this I would say is outstanding, considering that this mouse retails for under 20 pounds I think you would be hard pressed to find another mouse which offers you 1600dpi response timings with the quality of the materials and construction.

Check out the full look at Xtreme Computing.

Having recently become the proud owner of a digital SLR camera, I quickly realized firsthand why products like the Roadwired Podzilla exist. Digital cameras are fragile things, and SLR types are even more sensitive to shock, vibration, dirt, dust, water, acid, radioactivity, and what have you. Now, I’m not quite sure that the Podzilla will protect your SLR from all of the above, but it certainly seems to do the job for most. The bag itself has a few basic functions. Most importantly, the large main compartment is designed to secure and protect an SLR camera with a fairly large lens. While you can’t store a tremendous zoom lens in here, the 8” of headroom is plenty even for a larger lens such as my Canon EF-S 17-85mm.

Protect your expensive camera investment, and check out the review of this feature packed bag at XYZ Computing.

Gone are the days when the best performance is provided by 1GB kits
of memory. OCZ has given us an alternative that provides amazing
performance, solid overclockability, and 2GBs of memory in the form of two
1GB modules running in dual channel at timings that are un-heard of anywhere
else on the market. As you saw from the overclocking, this kit not only runs
DDR500 @ 3-3-2-8 but it actually runs DDR500 @ 2.5-3-2-7 and 2-3-2-7 up to
DDR450+!

These are some great looking modules. DDR570 speeds at a constant 2.7v is definitely nice! Check out the entire review at Overclockers Online.

Filling the system was a breeze. I poured the bottle of HydrX into a cleaned out 1 liter soda bottle, topping it off with distilled water. Next I filled the system through the reservoir as the instructions show. Adding a little water, then tipping the case back, I got a good amount of water in the tubing. After powering on the system some more fluid was immediately required as the pump should never be allowed to run dry. After tipping the case and adding more fluid a few times, the fluid level was just below the inside edge of the fill-hole. I then let the system run for a while allowing all of the bubbles to work their way out of the system, which also gave me time to sit and check for any leaks or seeps at the connections.

This is quite a solid kit, and looks great too. To see how it performs, head on over to Overclock Intelligence Agency.

In the first of a two-part series of Tech Tips on getting started with a Home Theater PC, or HTPC, we looked at the two most basic features to be considered: audio and video. With those areas addressed, there are still plenty of aspects worth considering that can help your computer become better integrated into your home theater for a truly enjoyable experience. Some of these aspects include component speed, cooling, noise, style, and the user interface.

Head on over to Big Bruin for the full primer!

With nine different prizes and only a simple contact form the fill
out, how could you not enter?! Think your odds are bad? We got extra ways
for you to rack up a few extra entries.

These are seriously amazing prizes. While most contests have one great prize, this one has numerous. Definitely check it out at Overclockers Online.

The stock versions of the HIS and Sapphire cards perform well, of course being of the same core, clock, and memory speed they perform almost identically. The true value of the cards comes out with the overclocking, the HIS card automatically improves 8% with some headroom to go a bit further. HIS states that it can go up to 540 and probably further. The Sapphire card performs great once you unlock it’s full potential with the extra four pipelines, as shown there is a massive increase in many cases, up to 50% in a few. Sapphire definitely has an edge with the unlocking ability.

Check out the full comparison over at Got Apex.

Before Blizzcon has even started we bring you coverage from the day before to let you see the inner workings and give you a sneak peak for what you will see tomorrow. For those who attend the 2005 BlizzCon event will find out that they get a special gift from Blizzard that gives them a Murloc pet and access to a beta site for a FUTURE Blizzard title…

If you are a huge Blizzard fan, then this is the place to be. Check out the full day 0 coverage over at Legit Reviews.

This case is as close as it gets to a perfect Home Theatre PC Case. With all the excellent features, a remote control and VFD, it’s sure to please. The overall styling and design is very desirable. There are also plenty of locations to install fans for excellent air flow. While this is not a slim HTPC case, it does allow for a standard ATX motherboard and PSU to be installed. In true SilverStone fashion, this is another fantastic HTPC. Watch the Video to find out more…

If you are in the market for a killer new HTPC case, check out the full video review at 3D Gameman.

The compact little 17″ screen of the Samsung Syncmaster 173P+ boasts a native resolution of 1280×1024 pixels. It is pretty clear by looking at the three separate colour test patterns that issues with ghosting are reduced on the 8ms gray-to-gray panel. Its industry standard dot pitch of 0.264mm makes for a crisper image from the a-si TFT/PVA panel than many 19″ LCDs can muster. The Samsung 173P+ does retail a bit higher than the average 17″ LCD will, priced about $570USD, but it does offer up a contrast ratio of 1500:1 and brightness value of 270 cd/m2. Viewing angles on the Samsung 173P+ break the barrier at 178 degrees horizontal/vertical.

Now this is a clean looking LCD monitor! To see if it’s up to par, check out the review at PC Stats.

This is the newest generation of Panasonic’s highly-regarded line-up of mega zoom cameras. With 8-megapixel resolution, a 12x Leica optical zoom and built-in optical image stabilization, this digicam is a decent alternative for those looking for D-SLR features but don’t want the hassle of interchangeable lenses plus they’d like the ability to view a live image on a 2-inch LCD screen and take short videos. The DMC-FZ30 feels very much like D-SLR yet costs a lot less especially when you budget the cost of lenses that would equal this focal range (a hefty 35-420mm in 35mm terms).

This is a great looking mid-range camera, but is it worth your dough? Check out the full in-depth look at Design Technica.

Saratoga, California USA – October 27, 2005 – Futuremark Corporation
today announced 3DMarkMobile06, a demanding graphics performance
benchmarking application for companies developing 3D mobile-device
hardware. 3DMarkMobile06 is the only product designed specifically to
benchmark next generation OpenGL ES 1.0 and 1.1 mobile hardware.

This is definitely a product for a selective market, but it may help you decide which mobile you want to purchase next. You can view the full press release here.

Part of the feature set of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows Vista operating system is support for High-Definition content, either through television signals, HD or Blu-Ray DVDs, or Internet video. Along with this support though, is a new set of restrictions designed to ensure the sanctity of HD content and protect it from copying. Microsoft, as you might imagine, intends to support HD DVD and video on all its current operating systems, especially the upcoming Windows Vista. To this end, the company is building support for HDCP into the operating system as part of its suite of DRM (Digital Rights Management) abilities called Output Content Protection Management (OCPM).

Check out the full article over at PC Stats.

Overall, the EYEpad is another excellent gaming mouse pad from Corepad. Corepad did the right thing when teaming up with EYEBALLERS and they have made a pretty impressive mouse pad here. Unlike most mouse pads, users can save up extra cash by not paying for all that fancy packaging. Looks like Corepad is going to keep the EYEpad as an OEM version thus this will certainly appeal to more gamers and perhaps system builders. Priced at $15.61 for the EYEpad standard and $20.43 for the EYEpad XL, both of these pads are very affordable. Considering the quality you get for that price, the EYEpad is certainly a steal. If you’re looking for a lightweight, easy-to-use, high-quality mouse pad, you should probably give the EYEpad a try.

Check out the full review over at PC Modding Malaysia.

In Part 1 of this project, I basically wired a laptop into my car to provide
an all-in-one multimedia solution. While the basic setup worked fine, it was
hardly original, not elegant at all, and a bit too basic. Wires were
everywhere, the laptop sticking out of the back of the seat was an absolute
eyesore. The gears in my head started turning, and plans for upgrades fell
into place.

Check out the full article over at ModTheBox.

Published on October 27, 2005

Zalman has always made some great aircooling heatsinks that provided excellent performance at low noise levels. Their new CNPS9500
continues that trend with a bit of uniqueness and style.

Head on over to InsaneTek for the full review.

With Santa Claus around the corner, it could be time to think of a little gift for your devoted laptop for its daily abnegation… AMDboard.com has a list of the crème de la crème for both of you and you can’t stay insensitive to its enumeration: First, we have the Logitech notebook V200 cordless mouse that can work a whole year with a single alkaline AA battery, second, the great Chrysalis WIFI seeker that spot the WIFI hot spots in second with indication of the signal strength, third, the Jetart Notebook NP6900 stand with cooling, USB hub, card readers and much more, fourth, the USB fan that will send, right in your face, the morning breeze at any time of the day and, fifth and last, the IDE 2.5in HDD adaptor for a quick connection of your notebook HDD to any desktop IDE connector.

Check out the full article at AMD Board!

Sunbeamtech has offered the typical fan controller (rheobus) in a variety of styles in the past, but the software based Theta TP-101 is much different. Instead of using knobs to mechanically vary resistance, a Windows interface is used to automate this through software, while providing on screen information for up to eight fans and eight thermal probes.

Check out the full review at Big Bruin.

A wireless mouse and gaming? The two terms never went well together, a paradox constantly laughed at by the gaming community at large. Between problems with latency, accuracy, interference, and that pesky sleep mode, the two could never get along. Things have changed significantly over time however, and now Logitech is the first company to release a wireless mouse actually intended for gaming. Could this really be the one mouse to change it all? Read on to see.

Check out the full review over at Everything USB.