Union, New Jersey – March 16, 2010 – MAINGEAR Computers, award-winning builders of custom computers for PC gamers and enthusiasts, announces a hardware refresh for the SHIFT everyday supercomputer.  The revamped hardware is highlighted by Intel’s Core i7 980X 6 core, hyperthreaded 3.33GHz processor, giving enthusiasts the ability to run up to an astonishing 12 threads in parallel enabling your PC to execute multiple CPU intensive tasks at once.  SHIFT also now boasts scorching fast SATA 6G that enables Crucial's new RealSSD C300 to reach speeds of 335 MB/s on sustained reads, which is now also available on the SHIFT.  

BALDWIN PARK, CA (March 16, 2010) - CyberPower's www.cyberpowerpc.com high-end gaming rigs will get an extreme performance boost when the company rolls out a new series based on Intel's most advanced processor to date, the "Gulftown." The Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition Processor, dubbed "Gulftown," features six physical cores. Intel's hyper threading technology provides users with an additional six virtual cores for a total of 12 threads on a CPU operating at a blazing 3.33GHz. 

Many of you already know a motherboard design can vary widely between motherboard makers. Colors, layout, and components are often fingerprints of the product designer and backed up by the pedigree of the company.

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R Ultra Durable Motherboard Review @ Ninjalane

Instead of following the flock of hardware reviewing websites and using a series of at least one hundred benchmarks to come the exact same conclusion, we decided to put Intel´s latest, codenamed Gulftown, to a series of extreme tests. Inside, you will find pictures, benchmark results and info on an extremely overclocked Gulftown B1

Not Yet Another Core i7 980X Review - Overclocking With LN2 @ Madshrimps

When the courier comes by to drop off new hardware, we always end up getting into a good conversation. The latest discussion was all about the NZXT Crafted Series Hades Computer Enclosure that we’re looking at today. It was interesting to hear the courier comment on things like the front bezel design and question the purpose of feature like the use of a temperature display. If he wasn’t on the job, he’d probably hang out and help review the case. I told him to check back to see what I came up with so without further adieu, we review the NZXT  Hades Crafted Series Computer Enclosure.

A Futurelooks News Flash - NZXT Hades Crafted Series Midtower ATX Enclosure Review

The aftermarket heatsink industry is very competitive, and manufacturers often release several product designs before finally scoring a win with enthusiasts and overclockers. The Megahalems was ProlimaTech's first run at CPU-cooler's, and a very sucessful one at that. Earning our Editor's Choice Award and countless accolades from other websites, ProlimaTech has built high expectations with their follow-up products. The ProlimaTech Armageddon is one such cooling solution with a legacy to fill, and with six heatpipes and enough finsink area for two 140mm fans it seems a reasonable possability. Benchmark Reviews recently tested the ProlimaTech Armageddon heatsink in our Best CPU Cooler Performance series, on an overclocked Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor against several other top CPU coolers.

ProlimaTech Armageddon CPU Cooler Review @ Benchmark Reviews

The Vapor 120 performed impressively. The Dimple Effect on the fins appeared to do its job, as the Vapor 120 uses only three heat pipes, albeit using Heat pipe Direct Touch, and stayed on par with other heat sinks using four heat pipes and a much larger fin array.

News - Zaward Vapor 120 CPU Cooler Review at Overclockers Online

Sennheiser's latest and greatest headphones are put to the test. The HD800s created quite a fuzz when released, not only were they one of the most expensive headphones launched last year, they were also the most anticipated ones. In this review we put them to the test and see if there can be a reason to spend $1800 on headphones.

Sennheiser HD800 @ techPowerUp

It's not uncommon for a company which focuses on one thing to branch out into another, but I am not sure many people would have predicted a company such as Arctic Cooling would begin producing audio equipment. Fortunately though, the company has obviously done its research, as the audio quality is very good (with great bass!).

Arctic Sound E361-BM Earbuds @ Techgage.com

NZXT’s newest case comes from the company’s Crafted series of cases, which includes such edgy designs such as the recently reviewed Tempest EVO. Let’s take a look at NZXT’s latest.

NZXT Hades Case Review @ Rbmods

"Today we shall review a few more high-end graphics cards belonging to the Radeon HD 58xx/59xx series. These solutions have had a great start. Radeon HD 5870 still remains the fastest single-GPU graphics card, while Radeon HD 5970 remains the absolute champion in today's 3D gaming graphics."

iXBT Labs Review: ATI Radeon HD 5850/5870/5970 Graphics Cards

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 15, 2010 – Intel Corporation announced today a new addition to its award-winning lineup of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs): the Intel® X25-V Value SATA SSD. Priced at $125, the 40 gigabyte (GB) drive is aimed at value segment netbooks and dual-drive/boot drive desktop set-ups to offer users the performance and reliability advantages of solid-state computing at an affordable, entry-level price. SSDs can replace or coexist with traditional hard disk drives (HDDs). With no movable parts or spinning platters, SSDs are more reliable and higher performing than HDDs. This makes users more productive as they experience faster overall system responsiveness. With the affordable price point, consumers can now enjoy the benefits of an SSD by adding an SSD option to their current desktop PC in a dual-drive or "boot drive" set up. In a dual-drive configuration, the Intel X25-V SSD is added to a desktop with an existing HDD. The SSD is loaded with the operating system and favorite applications to take advantage of the speedy performance which is nearly 4x faster than a 7200RPM HDD.** Users keep their existing HDD as a means of higher capacity data storage. This capability is commonly referred to as a "boot" drive since the SSD accelerates boot or start up time. For example, with 40GB of boot drive capacity, a user could load the SSD with the Microsoft* Windows* 7 operating system, Microsoft Office applications and their favorite gaming application, such as Dragon Age: Origins*, and experience up to 43 percent faster overall system performance or 86 percent improvement in their gaming experience.** The SSD also speeds operations such as system start up, the opening of applications and files or resuming from standby. "The Intel solid-state drive is our top-selling SSD," said Stephen Yang, product manager for solid-state drives at e-tailer Newegg.com. "This new value entry from Intel means more customers will have the chance to experience the benefits of SSDs, not just in notebooks or high-end PCs, but in mainstream desktops as a boot drive. This is the right price point to help convert more users to SSD computing." The Intel X25-V features 40GB of 34nm NAND flash memory. This non-volatile memory retains data, even when the power is turned off, and is used in applications such as smartphones, personal music players, memory cards or SSDs for fast and reliable storage of data. SSD benefits over a traditional HDD include higher performance, battery saving and ruggedness. "Adding the Intel X25-V to our existing family of high-performance SSDs gives our resellers a full range of high-performing, quality SSDs for notebook upgrades, dual-drive desktop set ups or embedded applications," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel NAND Solutions Group. "SSD adoption continues to be one of the more exciting trends in personal computing, and this entry-level product enables users to enjoy the productivity and performance benefits of Intel SSDs at a new price point." The 40GB Intel X25-V complements Intel's higher performance Intel® X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD product line that offers 80GB and 160GB capacities. All Intel SSDs are designed and manufactured by Intel using its own NAND flash memory from IM Flash Technologies (IMFT) and include a proprietary controller and updatable firmware. The X25-V is priced at $125 for 1,000-unit quantities and is currently stocked and available in worldwide distribution. In addition, the X25-V supports the Microsoft Windows 7 Trim function via the Intel® SSD Optimizer. Also included is the Intel® SSD Toolbox, a set of utility tools developed by Intel to help better manage and retain the out-of-box performance of Intel SSDs. Windows* XP and Vista* users can also use these enhancements which can be downloaded at: www.intel.com/go/ssdtoolbox

NVIDIA Joins Panasonic Nationwide Road Trip to Showcase 3D Games, Video, and Photos Running on Next Generation Full HD 3D TVs

These days, full-sized headphones are a novelty. They have become impractical for most music lovers with an on-the-go lifestyle, leading to a rise in the popularity of smaller designs. Today, ASE Labs looks at the Arctic Sound E361-BM, one of Arctic Cooling's entries in the crowded sea of earbud models.

Arctic Cooling Arctic Sound E361-BM Earbuds Review @ ASE Labs

These new Crucial 4GB UDIMM DDR3 modules were announced recently and each module has 4GB per module instead of the so far usual 2GB per module.
This capacity makes an enormously high memory upgrade possible for current High-End systems, because with e.g. 4x 4 GB modules it is possible to reach gigantic 16GB DDR3 RAM. This is fantastic for developer of 3D animations and graphic designer, but also for all other power users with a 64 bit operating system.
Two of these new Crucial PC3-10600 4GB UDIMM modules were tested as 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 kit in an AMD socket AM3 system, compared with some other RAM kits and overclocked to the maximum limit.

Crucial 8GB Kit DDR3-1333/PC3-10600 CT2KIT51264BA1339 Memory Review

From costumes and celebrities to models, magic and more the MegaCon 2010 show has it all. We walked down the hall of the Orlando Convention Center and through the doors and might as well have stepped into another galaxy. Our journey through MegaCon lasted a short four hours and we only managed to see a small part of the events and happenings going on. The walls were lined with memorabilia and every gizmo and gadget from your favorite show, comic, and film. Check out our huge gallery of pictures from the event where people dressed as their favorite characters.

Megacon 2010 Coverage @ TechwareLabs

Techgage has just turned five, so what better reason to celebrate? To help kill two birds with one stone, we're looking to YOU for input on what we're doing right, and what you want to see more of (or improve). As a thanks for taking our site survey, you'll be entered to have a chance at winning our custom-built gaming PC, valued at $4,200!

Techgage's 5th Birthday Contest - Win a Gaming PC! @ Techgage.com

If you thought that the technology at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games was impressive, you’ll be absolutely amazed at the role that technology has at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. The regular Olympics might get the lion’s share of the media attention, but that doesn’t mean that the Paralympics should be ignored. These fine folks are athletes too and, like their Olympic counterparts, they’re looking for any technological advantage that they can over the competition.

A Futurelooks News Flash - A Guide to the Technology of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games

Overclockers demand only the best performance from their computer hardware, which is why the aftermarket heatsink industry is thriving with competition. Using both the overclocked 140W AMD Phenom-II X4-965 BE and six-core Gulftown Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processors, Benchmark Reviews tests several new thermal solutions for our Best CPU Cooler Performance Intel/AMD Q1-2010 article. Notable entries include the ProlimaTech Armageddon, Cogage Arrow, Noctua NH-D14, Thermalright Venomous-X, and Zalman CNPS10X-Performa.

Best CPU Cooler Heatsink Performance @ Benchmark Reviews

There are not a lot of choices when it comes to ITX cases that offer room for system expansion.  Many ITX cases focus on super small size and therefore cannot utilize full-sized Optical Drives, card readers or multiple hard drives.  The Element Q from Thermaltake allows you to install your favorite Blu-Ray burner, a pair of 3.5" hard drives and more. . .

Thermaltake Element Q ITX Case Review - BCCHardware