Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler Review

We tested the Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP, a low-profile CPU cooler with two heatpipes and a 92 mm fan. Check it out!

This time we’ve tested a low profile CPU cooler from Arctic Cooling: the Freezer 11 LP. It has two heatpipes and a 92 mm fan. Let’s check its performance!”

Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Arctic-Cooling-Freezer-11-LP-CPU-Cooler-Review/1183

Cooler Master Elite Power 350 W Power Supply Review

“We also like to review low-end products from time to time so people with a serious budget restriction can have an idea whether it is worthwhile to buy cheap products or not. Today we are going to take an in-depth look at the Elite Power 350 W (RS-350-PSAR-I3) from Cooler Master. Can it really deliver its rated power? Is it worthwhile giving it a shot if you don’t have a lot of money to spend on a power supply? Let’s see.”

Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-350-W-Power-Supply-Review/1184

Is Apple’s iPad invincible

“I was at an Intel sales event this week with a bunch of analysts, and several of us got to talking about Apple, and how confident the company was in the iPad. Despite an army of competitors emerging this year, Apple remains assured that they’ll all look second-rate compared to the iPad and iPad 2. Apparently there is method to their madness, and a number of us have been hearing other OEMs complain that they just can’t get a comparable product to market for anywhere near the same price. They do plan to have smaller products to market at a lower price, but we are working from a rumor that says Apple has a strategy to deal with that problem as well. In addition, a number of us have heard of yet another enhancement the iPad 2 is likely to get.”

Link to the article:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/is-apples-ipad-invincible/

PSP 2 unmasked as Sony NGP: Next Generation Portable

“Sony has unveiled its new handheld and its not called PSP2. The Sony NGP, Next Generation Portable, will have a 5-inch OLED screen, capacitive multitouch, a rear multitouch surface, motion control, 3G, 2 full control sticks, PlayStation Suite support, a quad-core CPU, a quad-core GPU, and be capable of playing full PS3 games. A complete report of the unveiling is below. ”

Link to the article:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/psp-2-unmasked-as-sony-ngp-next-generation-portable/

AMD Catalyst 11.1 Windows 7 Driver Analysis

As we roll into another year and the first month comes to a close, it comes as no surprise that we begin to see a new iteration of the Catalyst driver suite. As you would’ve guessed, we’re dealing now with the 11 series driver and being both the first one and the January one, the exact name is the 11.1 driver.

This has been a little weird this time around, as AMD actually released a hot fix version of the driver before the official WHQL one. This is something we’re seeing more and more from them and it will be interesting if over time we continue to see “monthly” WHQL drivers, instead of just “monthly” driver updates. The thing is, over the recent months we’ve seen the official WHQL driver come followed by a bunch of non WHQL hot fix versions. We know the WHQL process takes time, and we would assume it also costs money, so it will be interesting to see if anything changes in 2011.”

For more information, please visit – http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3803/amd_catalyst_11_1_windows_7_driver_analysis/index.html

Corsair SP2500 2.1 232W Audio Speaker Kit Review

“When the Corsair SP2500 2.1 PC speaker system showed up in the test lab we hooked it up and were shocked to hear our music. We were able to hear details in the audio that we weren’t able to make out on our old speaker system. The satellite speakers on the SP2500 are amazing and the midrange audio is crystal clear. Most audiophiles talk about sound separation and having bass that overpowers vocals and we finally get what they were talking about. The Logitech Z-5300 system that we were running appears to have had greatly exaggerated bass and as a result we were actually missing out on the clarity of our audio tracks…”

Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1492/1/

GeForce GTX 560 Ti Review Roundup – Galaxy, MSI and Palit Compared

URL: http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=1068

Quote: “With three retail NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti offerings behind
us, we know that picking one is going to be a difficult choice for
some. Some users will really want the highest out-of-the-box
overclocked settings and that would be where the Palit Sonic offering
falls. Others will want the coolest running card and the MSI Twin
Frozr II design definitely takes the win there. Galaxy’s card offers
some great temperatures as well as a unique “spin” on the fan design
with a fold-out feature that allows for easy cleaning.”

NVIDIA Chips Comparison Table

“If you don’t follow almost daily the video card market it is really complicated to understand the differences between the several different NVIDIA graphics chips available on the market today. To facilitate knowing and understanding the difference among these chips, we have compiled the following table:”

Link: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/NVIDIA-Chips-Comparison-Table/132

2011 Super Bowl XLV

“Whether you’ve participated in fantasy leagues, filled in brackets, and laid a week’s salary on your team, or just plan to make snarky comments about the commercials to your friends on Twitter, watching the Super Bowl come February 6 is a necessity. But no mortal should have to soldier through it perched on an La-Z-Boy plastered in cat hair, with a wooden spool for a tablet, picking it up through bunny ears on a 1987 Trinitron. Which is exactly why we’ve put together a gear list to turn your scrappy shag-carpet man cave into the place to watch the game. Here are some great ideas for transforming your space into your own private box at the stadium.”

Link to the article:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gadgets/2011-super-bowl-xlv-tech-guide/

Asus launches DirectCU graphics cards from AMD, nVidia

Press release:
ASUS has launched an entire range of DirectCU II-enhanced graphics cards that include the latest technologies from both AMD and NVIDIA GPU rosters. On the AMD side, ASUS offers the HD 6970 and HD 6950 graphics cards with DirectCU II while for NVIDIA, the GTX 580, GTX 570 and new GTX 560 Ti all ship with the advanced cooling technology.

Based on ASUS DirectCU, which uses copper heat pipes in direct contact with the GPU core for up to 20% cooler performance, DirectCU II adds a custom cooler that uses twin 100mm fans for a massive 600% increase in airflow on HD 6970, HD 6950, GTX 580, and GTX 570 DirectCU II cards. ASUS has also launched the GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP graphics card with dual 80mm fans for the best performance in its segment through doubled air power.

The new DirectCU II graphics cards also include exclusive ASUS Super Alloy Power technology, which uses a unique alloy formula in power components such as chokes, capacitors, POSCAPs and MOSFETs to ensure a 15% performance boost, 35°C cooler operation and 2.5* times longer lifespan. In addition, ASUS overvolting utility Voltage Tweak allows gamers to realize the full potential of their PC’s graphics performance with an easy to use and intuitive user interface.

The newly-arrived GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II graphics card from ASUS uses specially-selected TOP GPUs clocked at 900MHz by default, representing a huge 80MHz overclock over reference. This indulges hardcore overclocking demands out of the box, something gamers around the world eagerly anticipate.

Product highlight:

- ASUS exclusive cooling technology DirectCU has pioneered the use of 100% copper heat pipes that come in direct contact with the GPU core, removing the metal shielding usually used between the core and the cooler in traditional graphics card designs. Compared to reference graphics cards, DirectCU models have shown up to 20% lower temperatures under load.

- New DirectCU II technology is an evolution of the DirectCU concept. In addition to the copper heat pipes, it includes a custom cooler fitted with two 80mm or 100mm sound-dampened fans. Unlike other graphics card cooling systems that sacrifice fan size and airflow to maintain quiet operation, the quality engineering of DirectCU II technology makes it capable of deploying two large fans that still remain quiet and unobtrusive. Testing has shown DirectCU II results in up to 600% greater airflow and up to 20% cooler operation than respective reference designs. This massive increase in cooling translates into an immediate performance gain, as the card can take on heavier loads. Users can also overclock the hardware further thanks to higher tolerances and lower temperatures.

- Super Alloy Power technology is based on proprietary research and development of a unique alloy formula in critical power delivery components. Used in chokes, capacitors, POSCAPs and MOSFETs, Super Alloy Power technology boosts graphics card performance by 15%*, lowers operating temperatures by 35°C, and lengthens lifespan by 2.5 times* when compared to reference designs. With added POSCAPs providing the most efficient power supply possible, DirectCU II graphics cards gain 28%* greater stability during overclocking.

- All of the new DirectCU II graphics cards cater to the needs of power users wishing to experiment with radical overclocking and performance enhancement. Each ships with exclusive overvolting utility Voltage Tweak, which allows modification of the card’s power delivery for up to 50% faster clock speeds.

- The ASUS GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP features specially-selected and factory overclocked cores for maximized performance at 900MHz, an 80MHz gain over generic core clock speeds, which guarantees premium overclocking experiences for gamers.

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