Elite Bastards' News Feed

Thursday news round up

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 15:19:40 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Thu 9th Apr 2009

Today, we examined Sapphire's FirePSU 625W, so don't miss our thoughts on Sapphire's entry into the power supply market. Otherwise, here's the rest of the latest news and reviews:

Video cards, CPUs and motherboards
- AMD Phenom II X3 710 CPU review at Motherboards
- Intel Q9400 CPU review at Bjorn 3D
- Gigabyte Overclocking Qualification Round 1 EU at Mad Shrimps
- GIGABYTE GO OC 2009 Asia Regional Final - Event Coverage Video at Tweak Town
- Gainward GeForce GTX 295 review at Metku
- BFG 9800 GT 512MB ThermoIntelligence Passive Cooling review at Hardware Canucks
- ASUS M4N72-E Motherboard review at Motherboards
- GIGABYTE GA-EX58-EXTREME Ultra Durable 3 Motherboard review at Future Looks
- Overclocking NVIDIAs GeForce GTX 275 at Tweak Town
- ASUS EAH4890 TOP/HTDI/1GD5 review at IT Reviewed

Cases, cooling and power supplies
- VIZO Mini Ninja and Ninja HS Notebook Coolers review at Virtual Hideout
- Tuniq Ripper 1000w review at Pure Overclock
- Cooler Master Storm Sniper Mid-Tower review at Tech Gage
- OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W review at Xtreme Computing
- Antec P183 Computer Case review at Benchmark Reviews
- Antec Signature 650 Watt Power Supply review at Tweak News
- Choiix C-HL01-WS Air-Through Laptop Cooling Pad review at Big Bruin
- Noiseblocker NB-Driveguard HD Cooler review at Verdis Reviews
- Scythe Typhoon review at XS Reviews
- Rosewill P901-P Case review at Driver Heaven
- Lian Li PC-9 Aluminium Midi Tower Case review at Clunk
- CM Storm Scout Gaming Case review at Benchmark Reviews
- Aerocool CoolPanel 3 review at Pro-Clockers
- InWin Matrix review at XS Reviews
- Cooler Master Storm Scout Mid Tower Chassis review at Extreme Overclocking

Storage and memory
- Corsair Ultra Fast 256GB SSD Sneak Peek at Hot Hardware
- Mtron MOBI 3500 32GB SSD review at Hardware Logic
- Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green Power Hard Drive review at Hot Hardware
- G.Skill F3-10666CL7T-6GBPK 1333MHz 6GB Triple Channel Memory Kit review at Clunk
- Kingston HyperX KHX16000D3K3/3GX 3x1GB 2000MHz DDR3 Kit review at Clunk
- Patriot Viper PVT36G1600LLK 1600MHz 6GB Triple Channel Memory Kit review at Clunk
- Corsair Dominator GT 1866 review at Bjorn 3D
- Transcend StoreJet 25 Mobile 500GB External Hard Drive review at Think Computers
- Solidata X2-256 MLC 2.5-inch Solid State Disk review at Tweak Town
- X58 Triple Channel DDR3 Memory round up at Mad Shrimps

Systems and input devices
- Logitech Harmony 1100 review at Inside HW
- OCZ Eclipse Laser Mouse review at Overclockers Online
- Microsoft Sidewinder X8 Bluetrack Gaming Mouse review at Future Looks
- Gateway MD7826u 15.6-inch Multimedia Notebook review at Tweak Town
- Wired2Fire Velocity and Hellspawn XFire PCs: Intel Core i7 and AMD Phenom II @ 3.6GHz at HEXUS
- CyberPower Gamer Ultra Perseus PC review at Driver Heaven
- Belkin n52te Speedpad review at Tech-Xtreme

Audio, video and communications devices
- Air Live HP-3000E 200Mbps Power Line Adapter Kit review at Tweak Town
- Linksys Media Hub NMH410 review at IT Reviewed
- LaCie LaCinema Black Max review at IT Reviewed
- Dell M109S Micro Projector review at IT Reviewed
- Custom Firewall Part 2: Determine Your Network Setup at OC Mod Shop

Software and gaming
- HAWX - PC review at Game Pyre
- Godfather II (PC) review at Driver Heaven
- Rock Band: Unplugged for PSP thoughts at OC Mod Shop
- Virtua Tennis 2009 (Preview) at Driver Heaven
- id's Peter Sokal Answers Our Wolfenstein Questions at OC Mod Shop
- XreaL: The Most Advanced Open-Source Game Engine? at Phoronix

Elite Bastards review: Sapphire FirePSU 625W power supply

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 06:07:10 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Thu 9th Apr 2009

Doubtless all of you reading this are more than familiar with Sapphire's range of graphics boards, and possibly somewhat familiar with their motherboards too. However, today we're looking at at something a little different from the company, in the form of their 625 Watt FirePSU power supply. Can they shake up the PSU market with their presence?

Given the power and connectivity requirements of those aforementioned graphics boards and motherboards, you could argue that the move to PSUs is a logical next step for the company, and this line of thought seems to be behind Sapphire's move into this market. As Sapphire are official suppliers of workstation-class FireGL products in certain regions of the world, there have apparently been demands for solid, reliable power supplies to go alongside them. With this in mind Sapphire have partnered with Enermax to produce the subject of today's review, the FirePSU 625W.

Although this effort may primarily be aimed at graphics workstations and the like its functionality, connectivity and power rating also have an obvious application for a large number of high-end desktop PCs, and it's to this end that we'll be putting the FirePSU 625W through its paces. We promise not to make any jokes about PSUs and fire either.

Sapphire FirePSU 625W power supply review

As always, your thoughts and comments are very welcome, and can be left in our forum using the link below.

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena install limit

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 02:54:21 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Thu 9th Apr 2009

I'd heard mutterings about this issue floating around over the past week or so, but a reader of ours named Rick has very kindly furnished us with some more information concerning Starbreeze's new title The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. This title has been much anticipated by many, but for purchasers of the game this anticipation has turned to horror thanks to some ridiculously over-bearing installation limits and restrictions.

In short, the PC version of Assault on Dark Athena uses an online activation method which allows you three installations of the game - So far, so unsurprising. Besides, if you need to you can always revoke an installation if you're replacing or reformatting your PC, right? Wrong. The major controversy surrounding this title is that there is currently no way of revoking an installation, meaning that once your three install limit is up that's it, no more Assault on Dark Athena for you.

I'm sure I don't need to explain or wax lyrical about how ridiculous this situation is, both for consumers (three installs isn't a lot for an enthusiast who is constantly fiddling, upgrading and formatting their PC) and reviewers (quite simply, we can't use this title for benchmarking) - This is very much a case of buyer beware, especially considering that these restrictions aren't listed on the retail packaging as far as I'm aware, and personally I would advise against anybody purchasing this title until some kind of working revocation tool has been made available.

If you want to keep an eye out for more information on this debacle, then you can do so at the relevant Atari and Starbreeze forums, while Amazon's customer review section for the title is making for interesting viewing right now.

AMD Catalyst 9.4 available for download

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 13:23:56 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Wed 8th Apr 2009

AMD have obviously aimed for an early release of their latest graphics driver for this month, bringing forth Catalyst 9.4 before we even get into double figures on the calendar. So, what's new and resolved in this latest set?

New Features

ATI Catalyst 9.4 - New ATI OverDrive auto-tuning application
- ATI Catalyst 9.4 includes a new ATI Overdrive auto-tune application to estimate the over-clocked engine and memory values for ATI Overdrive supported ATI Radeon Graphics accelerators
- Designed for the ATI Radeon HD 4000 Series

Resolved Issue Highlights
- "World of Warcraft" or "World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King": Flickering no longer occurs when Shadow is set to medium/high using ATI CrossFire configurations
- Google Sketchup no longer displays blank screen
- Resolutions above 1024 x 768 will now full screen properly for specific HDMI displays
- Artifacts no longer visible while playing Age of Conan DX10
- VC-1 progressive disc playback no longer exhibits block corruption.
- The Compute Abstraction Layer (CAL) driver now functions properly under Windows XP

You can download Catalyst 9.4 for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 from AMD's Game web site.

First NVIDIA Ion win announced: Acer AspireRevo

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 02:38:05 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Wed 8th Apr 2009

NVIDIA's Ion platform has been interesting both from a technical perspective as well as for the tit-for-tat argument between the company and Intel (whose Atom CPUs the platform uses) surrounding it. This row looked like it might put paid to any design wins for Ion, but this has now proved not to be the case, with Acer the first to announce a system based around this miniature platform.

NVIDIA and Acer collectively took the wraps off the very first NVIDIA Ion-based design win, with a sleek new SFF PC (Small Form Factor PC) called the AspireRevo. Built on the NVIDIA Ion platform, the AspireRevo consists of NVIDIA's GeForce 9400 chipset with integrated graphics in support of Intel's Atom processor. Specifically, this new Acer system comes with an Atom 230 on board, which is a single core variant versus the dual core variant NVIDIA was showing in their Ion reference system. The new little system looks a tad like Asus' Eee Box perhaps, but with a bit more styling and of course a lot more GPU horsepower under the hood for multi-media and full HD video offload processing on the Ion platform IGP.

You can read more, and find images of the AspireRevo, over at Hot Hardware.

Intel adds new chips to Atom line-up

Wed, 8 Apr 2009 02:35:08 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Wed 8th Apr 2009

Yesterday saw Intel reveal a new logo and star rating scheme for their processors, but today sees them introduce some new CPUs themselves, further bolstering their line-up of Atom parts. Also under discussion was the translation of the company's "Nehalem" architecture to the mobile market.

Intel announced two new Atom processors for mobile Internet devices, or MIDs: the Z550 and Z515. The Z550 extends the performance of the Atom line to 2GHz. The Z515 incorporates the Intel Burst Performance Technology (Intel BPT), which enables the processor to run at 1.2GHz when performance is needed, Intel said.

Anand Chandrasekher, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Ultra Mobility Group, in a keynote speech at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, discussed upcoming processors for laptops based on the Nehalem architecture that will be available in the second half of this year as part of the "Calpella" platform. These processors will be more powerful than their predecessors by including such technologies as Intel Hyper-Threading Technology and Intel Turbo Boost Technology.

c|Net News has all the details.

Tuesday news round up

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 15:01:36 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Tue 7th Apr 2009

Earlier today we reviewed Cyberlink's PowerDVD 9 Ultra software, so don't miss our thoughts. Otherwise, here are the rest of the latest news and reviews from around the web:

Video cards, CPUs and motherboards
- ASRock A780GMH/128M Motherboard review at Motherboards
- ASUS EAH4890 TOP Radeon HD 4890 review at Benchmark Reviews
- Gainward GeForce GTX 275 review at Tweak Town
- Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 OC+ review at HEXUS
- Intel Xeon W5580 CPUs and S5520SC Motherboard review at Driver Heaven
- Graphics Card + CPU, Part 6 at Digit Life
- GeForce GTX 285 round up: Asus, BFG and Zotac at Hot Hardware
- Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 1GB OC review at The Tech Lounge
- Radeon HD 4890 vs. GeForce GTX 275 at The Tech Report
- Intel Core i7 On Linux at Phoronix
- Intel Core i7 Overclocking "How To" at Hot Hardware
- Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 review at Bjorn 3D

Cases, cooling and power supplies
- Xigmatek Thor's Hammer review at Pure Overclock
- NZXT Rogue SFF Gaming Chassis review at Think Computers
- In Win Commander 850 850W Power Supply review at Tech Reviews
- Antec Twelve Hundred Gaming Case review at Jonny Guru
- Zalman VF950 review at XS Reviews
- Antec TruePower 750W PSU review at Driver Heaven
- GELID Silent Spirit CPU Cooler review at Verdis Reviews
- Coolmax V600 600W PSU review at RB Mods
- OCZ Fatal1ty 700 W Power Supply review at Hardware Secrets
- SilverStone RAVEN SST-RV01B-W Full Tower Case review at Tweak Town
- Choiix Mini Air-Through Laptop Cooler review at Pro-Clockers
- Lian Li PC-9 Aluminium Midi Tower Case review at Clunk
- Noctua NH-C12P cooler review at OCaholic

Storage and memory
- Super Talent 16GB Pico C Flash Drive review at Pro-Clockers
- Western Digital VelociRaptor 10k RPM 2.5" SATA review at OCaholic
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 review at Bjorn 3D
- Solidata X2-128 MLC 2.5-inch Solid State Disk review at Tweak Town
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB Hard Drive review at Big Bruin
- Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB Hard Drive review at Hardware Canucks
- Kingston HyperX T1 Series DDR3-2000 3GB Triple Channel Memory Kit review at Think Computers
- HornetTek External Enclosure review at Bjorn 3D
- OCZ Intel Extreme Series PC3-12800 6GB Memory Kit review at Hardware Logic
- G.Skill F3-10666CL7T-6GBPK 1333MHz 6GB Triple Channel Memory Kit review at Clunk
- Kingston HyperX KHX16000D3K3/3GX 3x1GB 2000MHz DDR3 Kit review at Clunk

Systems, communications and input devices
- Acer Aspire 8730G review at Inside HW
- Asus Eee PC 1000HE 10-Inch Netbook review at Future Looks
- Netbook Computing : Staying Productive While Remaining Afloat in a Recession at Tweak News
- ASUS N80Vc review at IT Reviewed
- Saitek Cyborg Force Rumble PC Gamepad review at OC Mod Shop
- A Look at Outdated Technology That Refuses to Die at Future Looks
- GameRigs Ego Custom Gaming System review at Tweak Town
- NZXT Avatar Gaming Mouse review at Modders Inc.
- Building a Custom Firewall Part 1: Why? at OC Mod Shop
- Dell Studio XPS 16 review at IT Reviewed
- Novatech Zu PC review at Driver Heaven

Audio devices
- Razer Carcharias Gaming Headset review at Hardware Logic
- ASUS Xonar Essence STX review at Tech Gage

Gaming and software
- Dark Sector (PC) review at IT Reviewed
- Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena review at Driver Heaven
- Phantasy Star Portable - PSP review at Game Pyre
- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 preview (PC) at Driver Heaven
- Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 at PC Review
- ESET NOD32 Antivirus v4.0 review at IT Reviewed

Intel launches new chip logos, rating system

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 13:09:11 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Tue 7th Apr 2009

The changes are relatively subtle, but as of today Intel have changed the logos used for their various CPU offerings, as well as bringing forth a new star rating scheme to (they hope) make things easier for consumers.

Intel has revamped its processor badging and rating system. Consumers are the main target, though business systems will get new badging too.

The new badges include a die (the chip minus the packaging) accent in the upper right hand corner, a prominent main brand (e.g., "Core"), and the modifier (e.g., "i7").

Intel has also instituted a star system that rates chips from five stars (best performance in class) to one star (lowest performance). "So when a consumer goes into a Best Buy store they can distinguish between Centrino, Core, Celeron, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad," said Intel spokesman Bill Calder.

c|Net News has the full details.

Elite Bastards review: Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 05:39:53 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Tue 7th Apr 2009

We've been using Cyberlink's PowerDVD as our DVD and Blu-Ray playback weapon of choice here at Elite Bastards for some time now, and a new iteration of this application is now upon us. So, what does the fully-fledged "Ultra" version of PowerDVD 9 bring to the table?

On the video playback side of things, the first item you'll probably want to enable is hardware acceleration, with Cyberlink supporting NVIDIA, ATI and Intel GPU acceleration for both DVD and Blu-Ray media. With hardware acceleration enabled, you have a few different colour profiles to choose from to suit your display and surroundings. Speaking of video output, HDMI 1.3 and all that entails is also supported by PowerDVD 9.

However, eschewing hardware acceleration does instead allow you to make use of Cyberlink's own, CPU-based, "TrueTheater" effects, which gives you control over sharpness, brightness and motion smoothing. One nifty ability of these TrueTheater affects is the ability to display them as either a side-by-side or "split-screen" comparison, so that you can see what your video looks like both before and after said effects are applied.

Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Ultra review

As always, your thoughts and comments are most welcome, and can be left in our forum using the link below.

PC Power & Cooling launches Pro-Source 1500VA UPS

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 02:48:37 BST

Posted by: Hanners
Posted: Tue 7th Apr 2009

PC Power & Cooling have built up an almighty reputation for their high quality power supplies, and a new product launch today sees the company also moving towards providing UPS', starting with a 1500 Watt unit priced so as to be attractive to enthusiasts.

"PC Power & Cooling has a long history of delivering premium power management solutions to enthusiast and commercial customers, and the Pro-Source continues that tradition by addressing customers needs for superior UPS," commented Ryan Edwards, Director of Product Management for the Group. "The Pro-Source protects your investment by delivering a pure sine wave output for uninterrupted power to even the most demanding pc configurations in the event of an extended power disruption."

The Pro-Source 1500 features ten minutes of back-up battery time at typical load (600W), and with 1500VA (1440VA with standard plug) and 900W it is powerful enough to provide back-up power to some of the most demanding of PC configurations. The software and the front panel both show Input Voltage, Output Voltage, Frequency, Load, Backup Time, and Temperature. The Pro-Source 1500 is compatible with all major operating systems including Windows XP/Vista, Netware, and Linux, and can send alerts to a computer through a USB cable and can be monitored remotely via email or pager alerts. When the UPS is running on utility power it is 97% efficient and there is an overload alarm to warn the user if the load is too much for the UPS to handle. The Pro-Source 1500 UPS uses three standard 12V, 7Ah rechargeable lead acid batteries that are easy to replace, and comes with an easy to follow instruction booklet and management software.

You can find the full press release on the OCZ web site, or take a look directly at the Pro-Source 1500VA's product page.