News for June 27th 2010

Kristofer Brozio | June 27, 2010 | Xbox | No Comments

Good Morning… It’s new week, so let’s start off with some more news…

Storage Related:

Thecus N4200 NAS with batterie Review
Teaser: Thecus presents a NAS of a special kind. In addition to high performance and safety it offers even a built-in power backup with Li-ion battery.
Link: http://www.tweakpc.de/hardware/tests/nas/thecus_n4200/s01.php

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500GB Ultra Portable Drive
Link: http://www.bigbruin.com/content/seagategoflex_1
Quote: With their new FreeAgent GoFlex ultra portable drive, Seagate now delivers the same high quality, dependable storage devices, but with the flexibility of not only interfaces, but of OS platforms. The newest generation brings both Mac and PC compatibility and the flexibility of not only USB, but Firewire800, and eSATA interfaces; all on the same ultra-portable platform.

Mushkin Callisto 120GB SSD Review.
Quote: Mushkin enter the SSD arena with their Callisto lineup of MLC based drives.
Link: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/storage/mushkin_callisto_120gb_ssd_review/1

Crucial Ballistix Finned DDR3-1600 with M.O.D. Temperature Sensing
URL: http://www.bcchardware.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=8755&Itemid=40
Quote:This kit features 2x 2GB sticks that have 8-8-8-24 2T timings at 1.65v and while that doesn’t appear to be all that exciting, the new finned Ballistix modules from Crucial throw an interesting twist into the bag by including software-capable temperature monitoring on their modules. We’ll take a look at the memory, the software and see how well they stack up in a couple of light benchmarks. . .

The first SandForce-based SSDs only squeezed 100GB of storage capacity from 128GB worth of flash. Corsair’s Force F120 kicks that capacity up to 120GB, but not without consequences.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19079

OCIA.net has posted their review of the Crucial 128GB C300 RealSSD SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive. Below is a direct quote from the review.

"As NAND Flash technology has continued to develop and Solid State Drive manufacturers push the envelope of controller speed, we have seen performance figures that approach, and even bump against, the threshold of SATA 3Gb/s bandwidth limitations. Thus the need for a new standard, SATA 6Gb/s, is making its way into design specifications of new hardware. However to date there has been only one solid state srive manufacturer to bring a SATA 6Gb/s product to market, Crucial with their C300 RealSSD series. Join me as I take a closer look at the Crucial 128Gb C300 RealSSD SATA 6Gb/s drive."

Direct Link: http://www.ocia.net/reviews/128c300/page1.shtml

SunbeamTech Airbox USB 3.0 Enclosure Review @ BayReviews.com

Review Link : http://www.bayreviews.com/computers/7890-sunbeamtech-airbox-usb30
Quote : "Hard drive enclosures are now beginning to adopt the USB 3.0 interface which is supposed to blow USB 2.0 and any other interface out of the water. Today we are testing the Sunbeam Tech Airbox USB 3.0 Enclosure to see how much faster it really is."

Choosing a Solid State Drive
Summary: "By now, you have heard all about Solid State Drives: They are one of the most beneficial upgrades for your computer, and those who upgrade to an SSD will almost never be able to go back. So, let’s say you are convinced; you know the size you need and you’ve decided you’ll get one. Wallet in hand, you are ready to buy one, but you realize there are a lot of them. Which is the best one? Which is the best SSD in a given size class?"
Link: http://www.overclockers.com/choosing-solid-state-drive/

Corsair Padlock 2 USB Drive with hardware encoding
Teaser: USB Drives are ten a penny. But not if it comes to security. Corsair closes the gap with the Padlock 2 with hardware encryption.
Link: http://www.tweakpc.de/hardware/tests/usb-stick/corsair_padlock_2/s01.php

Audio / Video:

ASUS VH232H 23-inch 1080p LCD Monitor Review @ ThinkComputers.org

Review URL: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/asus-vh232h-23-inch-1080p-lcd-monitor-review/

Quote: “The ASUS vh232h is a 23″ LCD display with a 5ms response time, 20,000:1 contrast ratio, and a full 1080p 1920×1080 resolution. Add in HDMI connectivity and built-in speakers, this wall-mountable display is candidate for some serious gaming, movie-watching, or, well, Farmville-ing (if you’re of that persuasion). ThinkComputers has the review.

V-Moda Crossfade LP Review
"V-Moda, if you’re not familiar with them, is a Hollywood, CA based company that is in the business of merging style, fashion and sound technology into super-hip products they think we will be proud to wear. Sound familiar? It should because the "street-style" approach to making headphones has caught on in a big way. Do a quick search on "stylish headphones" and you’re likely to see a lot of new names replacing industry heavyweights like Sennheiser, Grado and Audio-Technica. A generation of iPod listeners has moved passed the honeymoon period with their portable players. Now that just about everyone has an iPod or music phone, they demand accessories that are as much about making a style statement as they are about making sound. Here, we review the Crossfade LP headphones that V-Moda dubs "audio art". We test them to see how they hold up to the audio portion of that designation."
Link to the review: http://www.digitaltrends.com/headphone-reviews/v-moda-crossfade-lp-review/

Mobile:

Fujitsu Lifebook MH330 Netbook.

"Fujitsu has really stepped up their game by introducing the Lifebook MH330. It may not be most powerful netbook around, but’s definitely one the thinniest and lightweight models available on the market. Price, features and a 3-year warranty makes this a winner."

Read the rest of the article here … http://www.funkykit.com/category-table/202-fujitsu-lifebook-mh330-netbook.html

Samsung N210 Netbook Review at CCE Reviews
Link: http://www.ccereviews.com/reviews/samsung-n210-netbook/
Quote: The N210 netbook which retails in the mid $200 range is everything one would expect in a netbook: lots of battery, durable build quality and despite its size, highly usable thanks to its excellent keyboard.

Choiix PowerFort Advance Portable Charger @ Pro-Clockers

Review link: http://pro-clockers.com/powersupplies/1513-choiix-powerfort-advance-portable-charger.html

I am sure that many of you are in the same boat or even worse. Have too many electronic devices and have to carry power adapter for each. Well, Choiix a division of Coolermaster has released the Power Fort Standard and the PowerFort Advance. Each provides up to ten hours of additional portable power and can be recharged several hundred times. The only difference is the Advance model comes with foreign travel adapters and a DC plug in the packaging.

‘Fujitsu Lifebook S710 Notebook Review’
The Lifebook S710 is like taking the engine of a Ferrari and sticking it on a Tida.
The Full Article can be viewed at http://tech.tbreak.com/2010/06/fujitsu-lifebook-s710-notebook-review/

Assorted Stuffs:

D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch Review

Link:http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16541&Itemid=1

Today for review I’ve got the D-Link DGS-2208 8-Port 10/100/1000 Desktop Switch and I’ve found that it fits my needs perfectly. The DGS-2208 is a no frills, truly plug-and-play solution to expanding your network and best of all it’s green, or at least it claims to be. With this switch you won’t find all sorts of fancy options or even access to it from your network, you just plug it in and it does it’s thing automatically, couldn’t be easier really.. So read on to learn more about an inexpensive but yet decent switch to quickly and easily expand your network.

How To Destroy Your PC in 5 Easy Steps @ BURNED iN
URL: http://www.burnedin.com/guide/how-destroy-your-pc-5-easy-steps
QUOTE: "The Internet is littered with tips and tricks on how to keep your rig safe from certain calamities, so with all the information that’s out there, why then are PC repair shops busier than ever fixing busted systems? Maybe the answer lies in how the information is presented. We don’t claim to be experts in psychology, but just from our own personal observations, it would seem that people are contrary by nature. Telling a child not to touch an object is a surefire way of making sure it will soon have their fingerprints all over it, and in that same vein, perhaps instructing PC users how to avoid falling prey to common computing pitfalls has the exact opposite effect we’re shooting for.

Is PowerTop Still Useful For Extending Your Battery Life? @ Phoronix
Direct Link: http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=15072
Summary: "Three years ago Intel had released PowerTop, an open-source utility for Linux that would analyze how well your laptop was conserving power and would allow users to easily tune their system for maximum battery life via simple power optimizations. By simply running this utility, some users were able to significantly extend their battery life. However, is this utility still useful and needed with a modern Linux desktop? The most recent release of PowerTop (v1.11) was a year and a half ago, so we are seeing how well PowerTop is still able to reduce the power consumption of Intel notebooks/netbooks running Linux."

‘Pilot recreates your hand-writing on the Computer’
Write by hand on your computer!
The Full Article can be viewed at http://tech.tbreak.com/2010/06/pilot-recreates-your-hand-writing-on-the-computer/

At long last, AMD has brought the Cypress GPU that powers its Radeon 5800 series to FireStream cards geared towards high-performance GPU computing applications. Keep reading for the goods on AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s Fermi-powered Tesla products.
http://techreport.com/discussions.x/19141

After telegraphing its intentions from quite some time, AMD followed through today with the official unveiling of the Opteron 4100 series of processors. The introduction of these new Opterons marks a bit of a departure from AMD’s usual strategy in server- and workstation-class processors, for several reasons.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19138

On our third day in Taiwan earlier this month, we left the hustle and bustle of the Computex show floor and hopped on a bus to Hsinchu, about 60 miles from the island-nation’s capital. Hsinchu’s Science and Industrial Park plays host to a Kingston factory where memory and flash products are assembled–and we got to enjoy a guided tour.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19104

Goodbye Mac Mini, Hello Shuttle X350 / XS35
URL: http://computingondemand.com/goodbye-mac-mini-hello-shuttle-x350-xs35
Ok, so my days of wandering through Microcenter’s Apple area pondering whether to buy a NEW Mac Mini are over. It was a short lived dream… or nightmare; I haven’t figured that out yet. Apple almost had me until Shuttle announced its XS35 at Computex this year.

Interview with David Sun From Kingston Technology @ Legit Reviews
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1345/1/

Earlier this month during while we were in Taiwan covering Computex 2010 we had an opportunity to visit with the cofounder and Chairman of Kingston, David Sun. During the candid discussion he gave us some of his insight into the evolution of the desktop PC, laptops, and mobile devices. We also got a chance to hear how he and John Tu started the company and the idea that created a company with over revenues that have exceeded $4 billion a year.

EVGA UV Plus+ UV-19 USB Display Hub @ Benchmark Reviews

DESCRIPTION: Computer desktop real estate is something that you can never have too much of. Adding multiple monitors to your system is one of the easiest ways to add precious pixels to your desktop. EVGA is no stranger to the realm of display technologies, and their new product, the UV Plus UV-19 (Model: 100-U2-UV19-TR) aims to make that easier on everyone using DisplayLink technology. Benchmark Reviews is going to take a look at this external USB Display extender and see what it can offer. EVGA boasts such features as USB 2.0 convenience, DVI connection, Small design, and Low-power consumption, just to name a few. Will the UV Plus+ UV-19 live up the EVGA name? Stay tuned to the the rest of the article on Benchmark Reviews to find out.

ARTICLE URL: http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=542