Content and news by Rob Williams

Logitech recently announced at this months CeBIT, that new Headsets were on the horizon. We are reviewing their top model, the Premium USB Headset 350, which they promise to provide superior input and output sound, and great comfort. How does it do? Check out our review.

“Over the course of the past week, we went through an extensive recode of the RealTime Price Engine front end, in preparation to move the entire beta search capability off PHP/MySQL and onto ASP.NET/MSSQL. As a result, we have seen some interesting boosts in performance in several areas, but also unforeseen drawbacks in performance in others. We are real close to deploying the RTPE into AnandTech’s environment, so expect some pretty awesome changes to the engine in the next few weeks as we continue to migrate!”

Check out the full guide at AnandTech.

“The RyanPower2 comes in two different versions; you can go all out and buy the 550W or go for the more modest 450W edition. Each one features a CableFREE management system which allows you to plug in only the cables you need.”

Looks like a solid PSU. Read the review over at MadShrimps.

“Recently, Team ARP was invited to the launch of the new ASUS W3, W5 & V6 Sonoma notebook series. With great pleasure, we accepted the invitation to the launch at Modestos at Mont Kiara.

Armed with three Nikon D70s, we were there to capture every aspect of the launch as well as the new notebooks (including the two delectable models!). Check out our special report!”

Check out all the details with a lot of pics at the Rojak Pot.

“Part of being a computer modder is control. A modder likes to control the
look, sound, and performance of their computers. One major aspect of
computer control is controlling various fan speeds the our computers have.
The reason one wants to control fan speeds is because of the relationship
between computer temperatures and noise. Higher fan speeds are potentially
lower computer temperatures, but higher noise output. Naturally, each
person has their own acceptable balance between noise and temperatures. One
product that can help you find and efficiently maximize that balance is the
T-Balancer SL4 by mCubed. Just what can the T-Balancer do? Read on and find
out.”

Check out the full review at A True Review.

“Coolergiant has been hard at work to produce a variant on this design, with dual PCI-Express graphics plugs for powering an Nvidia SLi graphics setup. In fact, Coolergiant have even worked with Nvidia to get this certified to power your SLi rig – which, as you may know, is not an easy job. Dual 6800 Ultras pull an insane amount of current, and require a hefty, and stable, power supply to keep them running.”

Check it out at Bit-Tech.

“DFI has produced o­ne of their first motherboards into the PCI Express and Socket 939 marketplace. The DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D utilizes NVIDIA’s nForce4 platform, which allows ample adjustments by the enthusiast. The DFI SLI-DR and the Ultra-D motherboards bring socket 939 compatibility, along with PCI Express technology to the marketplace. The LanParty nF4 SLI-DR and the LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D motherboards are virtually the same, and are built o­n the same printed circuit board (PCB)”

Check out the review at Xtreme Resources.

“The basic purpose behind this guide is to give you a general idea of what kind of high-end gaming PC is possible with a budget of $2500. While the individual components are top notch, we take a look at the larger picture, and decide which pieces meld together the best to form the highest-performing, feature-rich gaming PC possible. We recommend system configurations for both the Intel and AMD sides of the spectrum, and are not here to promote one platform over the other.”

Check it out at Sharky Extreme.

If you think I am joking, I’m not.

“Rap impresario 50 Cent may be riding atop the Billboard charts on the strength of his hit single “Candy Shop,” but music lovers of all kinds will soon be able to mix their passions for beats and sweets if one gadget maker’s plans come to fruition.”

Bizarre gimmick, but somewhat cool. Check it here.

“The sticker on the underside states 28A on the 3.3V line, 38A on the 5V line, and 17A on the 12V line. While the first two are sufficient, 17A on the 12V rail isn’t enough, considering other quality 300-400W models can provide as much as 30A. Even more interesting are the combined ratings. You’ll notice there’s a 200W power limit on the 3.3V + 5V rails. Furthermore, there’s a 350W total power rating for all three rails, with the “max output” capped at 500W. In other words, you’re not getting a 500W model. You’re getting a 350W model that’s theoretically capable of a 500W maximum output. The caveat here is that because the total power is written to be 350W, you can’t expect to get sustained, stable power delivery beyond that. Fortunately for most people, even 300 watts is more than enough.”

Check it out at MikhailTech.

“We recently reviewed the SilverStone TJ05B case, which unfortunately had some design problems. SilverStone has made revisions since then and let us revisit the case. This time they sent a TJ05S-TW, which is silver and comes with a window and thermal controller.”

Check out the full review at InsaneTek.

Greetings from the Central Wastelands! We’ve been tearing up the pavement again this week, making lots of stops across the information superhighway to bring you new videos and interviews about Auto Assault. Here’s a quick look at what’s new and where you can find it: – A hands-on preview and Human profile Comment (0) -->

“Ultra’s X-Connect was well known for its modular capabilities and very reflective mirror finish. From Ultra Products today, we have another PSU which features the shiny ‘titanium’ mirror finish, the Ultra X-Finity 600W. Does it perform as well as it looks?”

Check out the review at Phoronix.

“From a design standpoint, the main box does pretty much everything right: there’s a 120mm slow spinning, low noise intake fan, meaning good airflow (and cooling) while being almost silent. As mentioned earlier it’s also load controlled (rather than temperature controlled), but the speed increase is exponential rather than linear. That is, it spins at the same rate in a certain load range (up to 40% according to their diagram) before spinning up to its maximum speed at 100% load. According to Seasonic it can also adapt to ambient temperature, so the higher the ambient temperature the faster it’ll spin at full load (though it still spins at the same rate up to 40% load regardless of ambient). There are a few ventilation holes in the front and right side, but most of the airflow goes from the fan and out the back. The rear uses a honeycomb mesh, the most air-efficient design possible (circular and grid meshes are both structurally weaker and don’t let as much air through). Here you’ll also find the AC plug and a power switch. No voltage selector is present and none is needed because the active PFC takes care of that.”

Check it out at MikhailTech.

Hardware Hell has a new intereview with John Beekley of Corsair, who is the VP of New Product Development.

1) XDR. Currently this is only a viable type of memory for UMA environments such as game consoles, and RAMBUS may never be able to bring this memory to the PC, but how do you view this new type of memory in relation to how it will affect your markets in the coming years and what you do about it right now?

XDR is a very interesting technology, and I think it has a good chance of being used in many applications down the road. However, I will be surprised if it is ever employed in PC desktops, laptops, or servers. I think the PC market is not likely to embrace a memory standard where significant royalties are required unless the benefits are truly compelling, compelling to the extent that no standard technology will provide adequate performance. And right now, both Intel and AMD are very clearly designing their future architectures for emerging standard technologies such as DDR2, DDR3, and fully buffered DIMM. So, we are keeping an eye on XDR, but not much more than that.

Check out the full interview at Hardware Hell.

“Workers at LogicLibrary, a company that makes software development tools, including programs designed to catch bugs before applications go into production, said they have unearthed a potential flaw in the IM client made by Cerulean Studios.

According to LogicLibrary, the vulnerability could allow malicious-code writers to do anything from shutting down individual programs on computers running Trillian to gaining complete control of a machine’s operating system.”

Interesting. Check it out at News.com.

“Team ARP is proud to announce a new giveaway contest, in collaboration with Corsair! Let’s take a look at what’s at stake!

The 1st week winner has been chosen! There are THREE more memory kits to be given away. Hurry up!”

Check out the details at Rojak Pot.

“Regeneration: What can you tell us about the upcoming products

Danny: The second half of 2005, XGI is pushing for PCIe’s Value and Mainstream Segment products. XG47 is our value segment PCIE with Shader Model 2.0 which targets at 6200 with Turbo Cache-like architecture; we call it eXtreme Cache. XG45 is our mainstream segment PCIE with Shader Model 3.0 which targets at 6600 with flexible dram configuration such as 96/192bit. Both products should have a more visible appearance in Computex 2005.”

Check out the full interview at NGOHQ.

“A quick ping around the industry gives us a serious concern about the number of units which has actually hit the press – but more of a worry is the number of units which shipped to their flagship store on Regents Street, London. Time will tell.”

What is Gizmondo? Check Hexus to find out.

“In an ideal gaming environment, we would be able to setup high quality
speakers and play in glass-shattering glory. Unfortunately, we are not
always in the ideal environment and the use of rattling speakers is not
always practical or allowed. Whether it be complaining neighbors,
roommates, or fellow LAN gamers (imagine every gamer at a LAN party with
speakers at full blast ;-) ; this is where headsets come in. Headsets allow
you to game without disturbing those around. They also have a microphone
for games that utilize it.

This review will look at a headset from a well respected mouse pad company,
the Siberia Multi Headset from Icemat. Does the Siberia deserve a spot on
your head? Read on and find out.”

Check out the full review at A True Review.