GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 featuring 333 Onboard Acceleration, 3-Way SLI™ and CrossFireX™

City of Industry, CA, November 18, 2009 – GIGABYTE Technology CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to launch their latest flagship motherboard, the GA-X58A-UD7. Based on the Intel® X58 chipset, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 delivers all the killer next generation features that gaming enthusiasts and power users have been waiting for including GIGABYTE’s 333 Onboard Acceleration features with support for USB 3.0, Serial-ATA Revision 3.0 (6Gbps) and a 3x USB Power Boost, as well as multi-GPU support for NVIDIA 3-Way SLI™ and ATI CrossFireX™ and support for Intel’s upcoming 32nm high performance processors.

Convection is when moving air transfers heat to or from a surface. This is the method used by most laptop coolers to keep your CPU, GPU and other critical components from overheating. There are three major factors to effective cooling (or heating), namely temperature difference, surface area, and air flow. Any differences in these factors will lead to differences in performance, even for the same cooler. The Benchmark Reviews team tries hard to provide you with fair and repeatable testing. The Antec Notebook Cooler 200 uses all three factors to achieve effective cooling with minimal power. Our tests show which of those factors makes the biggest difference. We also consider ergonomics, looks and quality.

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I found the headset very comfortable when wearing it compared to a pair that I had bought at Wal-Mart which weren’t so comfy after an hour or more. I wouldn’t say that they are noise canceling, but they do block out more sound from the ones I had bought and any cheap ear phones...

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One of the best way to save money and still get a kick ass home theater set up has always been three words, “build it yourself”. Now the company Saybas is changing that and hopefully for the better with the Popcorn Hour C200. The Popcorn Hour C200 is a Network Media Tank that promises to pack a wallop when it comes to home theater set up’s. Thanks to Saybas you now have the option to purchase one of their sleek looking Popcorn Hour C200 units and still have enough in your budget to purchase a few of the latest blockbusters. Ladies and gentleman follow me as I review Saybas’s Network Media Tank, the Popcorn Hour C200.

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As a simple NAS device allowing you to connect up to four USB hard drives to your network, the Seagate DockStar shines. Toss in the capability of using the PogoPlug online service, and the DockStar becomes even more valuable for the average consumer. It is extremely easy to setup and configure, and anybody that can follow simple instructions should be able to use it.

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For this week's installment of the Bigbruin.com NFL pool we have a brand new Kingston SSDNow V Series 40GB solid state drive.  Get your picks in for the NFL week 11 games for your chance to win...  We're skipping the Thursday night game, so you have until Sunday to enter!

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"The BlacX Duet is a very simple yet effective product for quickly accessing data on any two hard drives. And when I say any two drives, I mean it in a literal sense. The docking station supports all 2.5” and 3.5” SATA drives up to 2TB, so the chances of incompatibility with any current drives you have are slim to none. Furthermore, installation is completely tool-free and the absence of fans allow for silent operation."

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ATI now dominates the graphics industry with their DirectX 11 Radeon HD 5000-series video cards, which allows them to enjoy current-generation gaming on Windows 7 and Vista. The ATI Radeon HD 5870 has already beat the worn and weathered GeForce GTX 285, just as the Radeon HD 5850 and HD5770 do at their respective price points. By combining two Cypress XT GPUs together on one PCB, the ATI ! Radeon HD 5970 video card will now compete against the very best NVIDIA can offer: the GeForce GTX 295. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 'unlocked' Hemlock GPU against the top graphics products available and demonstrates just how much ground AMD has gained in a few short months.

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With the release of AMD's latest Radeon HD 5970, the question comes up "What can be gained by going CrossFire?" We investigate the quad GPU performance of the HIS Radeon HD 5970. Even though the setup rip a $1200 hole in your wallet, performance will make you smile.

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Today marks the day that AMD takes back the graphics card performance crown from NVIDIA. The new AMD Radeon HD 5970 comes with two fast Cypress GPUs on a single PCB. Using their latest power saving features, AMD achieved a very modest power consumption for this card which right now is the fastest money can buy.

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Santa Monica, CA – November 12, 2009 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Infinity Ward’s much-anticipated Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 2 has become the biggest launch in history across all forms of entertainment with estimated sell-through sales of $310 million in North America and the United Kingdom alone in the first 24 hours, according to internal Activision estimates.

Santa Monica, CA – November 16, 2009 – This holiday season, bring the joy of slaying Zombies to the palm of your hand  – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and developer Treyarch, announced today the availability of the Apple iPhone & iPod Touch app: Call of Duty: World at War: ZOMBIES.  This mobile version of the hit gameplay mode from Treyarch’s blockbuster title Call of Duty®: World at War delivers upon the experience of one of the most popular and played online games of 2009. Call of Duty: World at War: ZOMBIES offers both single player and the game’s highly-addictive co-op gameplay experience in full 3-D, allowing up to four players to join a game via Wi-Fi, locally or across the Internet, and up to two players via Bluetooth, all on the go!

Santa Monica, CA – November 17, 2009 – It’s time to get off the couch and into the game with Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Tony Hawk: RIDE, the ground-breaking new entry in the popular action sports franchise.  Featuring a revolutionary skateboard controller, players of varied skill levels can physically control the action by stepping on board to perform movements and gestures that directly translate into amazing tricks in the game; from grinds, grabs and ollies to Tony Hawk’s signature tricks.

The Automaton ATX case from Sunbeamtech is a budget friendly aluminum tower case with Alienware looks and plenty of cooling fans to keep your hardware running stable. Is it any good? Time to find out!

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Raidsonic is well known for their internal and external RAID-enclosures. This time however we have something totally different. Raidsonic Icybox IB-MP305A-B is their newest FullHD capable mediaplayer with network interface. Let's have a look how it performs as full featured mediacenter in home use.

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif., November 17, 2009 – The Sims are off on an adventure of a lifetime! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that The Sims™ 3 World Adventures Expansion Pack*, the first expansion pack to the best-selling PC game of calendar 2009**, The Sims 3, is available at retail nationwide and for digital download today for the PC and Mac. The game will be in stores worldwide in 60 countries and in 22 languages this week.

SAN FRANCISCO - Nov. 17, 2009

With the close of the 3rd Annual Virtual Goods Summit, industry professionals and journalists alike are buzzing about the many challenges and benefits virtual goods monetization presents for the digital media and interactive entertainment industries. The two-day event, held at the Westin Market Street Hotel in downtown San Francisco, featured a complete lineup of nearly 50 speakers from leading companies, more than 30 sponsors, and a total of over 550 professionals in attendance. Attendees came together to share experiences, inspire and learn from one another, all while celebrating the burgeoning virtual goods industry.

The Airflow King is reborn with advanced cooling performance, maximum expandability, and superior cable management

El Monte, CA – November 17, 2009 – NZXT, a company built on realizing the dreams of gamers worldwide, is proud to announce the Tempest EVO, a sleek, all black, steel mid tower gaming chassis.  Building off of the original Tempest’s award winning design, the EVO brings advanced cooling power, expandability, and cable management.  The Tempest EVO maximizes airflow circulation with Dual 120mm intake, side 120mm, and a rear 120mm fan.  NZXT even redesigned the fan blades so they effectively deliver more air at lower noise levels.  Additionally, the bottom mounted PSU provides better airflow and separation of heat from the CPU.

The value of the Beta EVO is pretty decent for what you get (at time of publishing the Beta EVO could be found online for ~$59.99 USD). The lack of included fans is probably the biggest drawback for some, however for the enthusiast who has some fans kicking around or has a particular brand they like to use this case could be a great choice since you aren't paying for fans that you will just be removing and replacing. . .

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Today NVIDIA launches their first GDDR5 graphics card. The new GeForce GT 240 is based on NVIDIA's brand-new 40 nm G215 graphics processor and features 96 shaders. It also includes several new features like support for DirectX 10.1, HDMI audio enhancements and extremely low power draw. But is that enough to justify a price of $100?

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