Desktop PC Hardware » Hardware

GIGABYTE X58A-UD7 Motherboard Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Sat, 22 May 2010 13:53:09 +0000

GIGABYTE X58A UD7 Package Overview

The presence of the latest chipsets from Intel, Intel P55, lately seemed eclipse the Intel X58 chipset. However, high-class chipset is starting to resonate more with the launch of the Intel processor with six cores which is indeed first present in this platform. GIGABYTE did not miss one motherboard released on this class ie, X58A-UD7.

This motherboard looks so crowded with a variety of components crammed on it. One component that takes place is large heatsink. This large heatsink covering the Northbridge area, southbridge, and MOSFETs. In parts of Northbridge, GIGABYTE provides two holes for cooling using a liquid cooling solution. GIGABYTE also includes an external heatsink to be mounted on the northbridge heatsink. GIGABYTE named the “Hybrid Silent-Pipe 2″ for such cooling solution.

GIGABYTE X58A UD7 Heat Sink

Meanwhile, the GIGABYTE did not pin a half-hearted features in it such as USB 3.0, SATA 6 Gbps, 3x USB Power, 24 phase-power processors, the Ultra Durable 3, the Dynamic Energy Saver, and others. In addition, the SMART feature unique GIGABYTE 6 is also present in order to maximize the use of this motherboard.

GIGABYTE X58A UD7 6 GB SATA

This high-class motherboard was able to offer great performance. Performance gaming and everyday applications considered satisfactory. If not satisfied with the performance with a single gaming graphics cards, GIGABYTE include 3-way SLI and CrossfireX.

Conclusion:
High performance with abundant features indeed be one characteristic of GIGABYTE and it successfully implemented in this motherboard.

Price: US$ 460

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge Review

admin — Sat, 22 May 2010 11:37:14 +0000

Thinkpad Edge 13"

Simple Design Thin And Many More

Lightweight. That was the first word spoken our mind when opening this laptop from this box. With a weight of only about 1 kg (plus a 6-cell battery), Thinkpad Edge is very easy to travel around. We put it in a backpack and carry it all around, our shoulder did not sore.

The Edge Series is the first ThinkPad to have 13.3-inch screen size (1366×768). The front of this Edge looks simple, the dot on the letter ‘i’ on the ThinkPad logo on the upper right side up could light too. With silver-colored edges, black cover and red LED lights, this Edge ThinkPad giving the impression of simple and elegant.

Talking about ‘Edge’, the new ThinkPad is now no longer having a taper angle design. Instead of silver-colored edges complement the body of this laptop.

Well, one of the most interesting of these is the ThinkPad Edge keyboard which seem neater if compared to the classic ThinkPad series. Nothing apart from the keyboard shortcut buttons (except power button).

Thin and Light

For the protection of prime quality, Lenovo has the features of an anti-spill keyboard and ThinkVantage technologies, as well as the Active Protection System Rescue and Recovery. As a result strong and sturdy laptop stamp still lingering in the body of this Edge ThinkPad.
One thing that’s unfortunate. ThinkPad Edge Why not have a shortcut key ‘Think Vantage’ separately from the keyboard?

reversed fn (function) keys

It seems in this series Edge ThinkPad, Lenovo further highlight the function button (Fn) from the row of keys F1, F2, F3 and so on. For example: If users need to press (Fn + F3) to raise the volume, now users can simply press F3 alone (without Fn).

Talking about convenience, the Edge keyboard design no longer adds numerical figures on the U, I, O, J, K, L and M. That’s why Edge ThinkPad keyboard becomes more orderly, without leaving the classic ThinkPad design features.

ThinkPad Edge still has three USB ports. The difference is, now there is a port with a USB power. This facilitates the owner of gadgets such as iPods, to recharge their device on this thin laptop. In addition there is also VGA port, HDMI, card reader, and audio jacks. Unfortunately there is no DVD ROM.

Edge is basically ThinkPad laptop for work requirements than entertainment. So do not expect to play heavy games, and also to play a full HD video format.

With the internal graphics from Intel, ThinkPad Edge is able to play streaming videos on YouTube. Working in Corel or Adobe Photosop – with a fair resolution – this laptop can still capable of doing such tasks.
Edge ThinkPad has an Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.30 GHz, 800Mhz, 3MB cache) with Intel GS45 chipset. Additionally this laptop has 2GB RAM (up-to-4GB), and 320 gigabyte hard disk. AMD models is available with AMD Turion X2 processor.

CPUZ Description of the Lenovo Thinkpad Edge Processor

Equipped with six-cell battery, Lenovo claims this product can hold approximately 8 hours. However, the results of tests performed ThinkPad Edge can only survive about 4.5 hours when testing it by browsing using Firefox in auto refreshing per-30 seconds, the brightness with the default, bluetooth off, and WD external HDD brands that continue digging until the battery runs out.

Conclusion:
Actually who are the target users of this new Lenovo ThinkPad? Lenovo sad their target market would be Small to Medium Enterprises (SME). But from the review, the ThinkPad Edge is a netbook with ULV processors so that it would be more efficient. For the size of a thin laptop, it’s natural if she did not have a DVD ROM.

If Lenovo’s targeting SMEs, a thin laptop is deemed suitable for the IT staff, which does not require heavy graphics performance. With thinness and resistance of the batteries, this thin laptop can be the best partner for mobile IT staff.
With the price of USD 679, ThinkPad Edge could be an alternative option for netbook owners who are bored with the small screen. Coupled with a fairly light weight, and power of USB, this laptop could become an attractive option.

General Specifications:

Processor                      : Intel Core 2 Duo 1.30 Ghz
RAM                                : 2 GB
GPU                                 : Intel Chipset
Storage                          : 320 GB
DVD Speed (R/W)      : -
Connectivity                : LAN, WiFi, Bluetooth, SD card reader, jack audio, S-Video, HDMI port

OS : Windows 7 Home Basic/ Home Premium/ Professional.
Pre-loaded Application:
Norton Internet Security, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Flash Player, MS Office 2007, Skype.
Support applications:
Rescue and Recovery 4.2, Password Manager 3.0, System Update, Think Vantage Utilities.

Benchmark Score (PC Mark Vantage) : 2,879

PALIT REVOLUTION R700 HD 4870X2 2GB DDR5 Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Sat, 16 May 2009 03:05:44 +0000

PALIT REVOLUTION R700 HD 4870X2 2GB DDR5

Inorder to fill the high-end graphic card market and become the fastest of the graphic card industry, ATI installed 2 GPU chip HD 4870 in one board, and so the ATI HD 4870X2 was born. Seizing the chance, Palit decide to manufacture a graphic card using this chip of their own too.

To cool off this card Palit used the one not referenced by ATI. Palit uses their own choice of cooler, the result is an HD 4870X2 graphic card which takes up 3 slots from your motherboard. Though big in size, the cooler really work quitely.

The card also comes with complete set of connectors from DVI, HDMI, VGA and diplay port are available in this graphic card. If you need 2 DVI connectors, Palit included an HDMI to DVI adapter.

No S-Video

The test for this card is running smoothly. All the test given were completed succesfully. The result given by this card is also satisfactory regarding to its high-end class. Using a very high resolution and maximum detail while playing a game is very recommended as the performance of the card shouldn’t be restrained.

Conclusion:
If you’re choosing this type of graphic card make sure you have plenty of space available in your computer case. Because it consumes lots of space thanks to its cooling device. This graphic card is also very suitable for enthusiats and hard core PC gamer.

Specifications:
Chip: ATI Radeon HD 4870X2
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 2 GB
Core Clock: 750 MHz
Memory Clock: 950 MHz
HDTV output: not available
DVI output: available
HDMI output: available
Jenis Memory: GDDR5
Memory interface: 512-bit
Package: HDMI to DVI Converter, CrossFire Bridge, 6 pin to 8 pin Power Converter, Driver CD, Quick Installation Guide.

Benchmark:
3DMarks Vantage : P10277
Company of Heroes DX9: 195.2
Company of Heroes DX10: 83.3
F.E.A.R.: 271
Quake 4: 194.3

This product is tested with this testbed system:
Mainstream Mobo: MSI P35-NEO2 FIR
Extreme Mobo: ASUS Maximus
ATI Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD3870
NVIDIA Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT
Memory: Corsair DDR2-PC6400, DDR2-PC8500, DDR3
Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200RPM, Raptor
Power Supply: Tagan 700W, 800W, 1100W
Flash Memory: Kingston UFD, SDHC, SD, MicroSD, CF
Keyboard & Mouse: Genius USB, optical
Optical Drive: AOpen DVD-RW 2012S
Cooling System: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7Pro/64Pro dan Accelero X1/X2

source CHIP Magazine.

Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3 Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:43:43 +0000

Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3

This time Manli released their new product the Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3 to enable them compete in the mainstream market. This graphic card is using the 9600 GT chipset which had been downgraded on the stream processor from 96 core to 48 core but with overclocked core and memories.

This graphic card is already equipped with Artic Cooling HSF to overcome the heat during workload. Unfortunately it doesn’t come with steel holder to keep the graphic card straight. The effect is that the graphic card looks a bit bended, eventhough it doesn’t interfere with its performance.

The card is stable enough at testing. Chip magazine tried to test it by playing Company of Heroes with 1024 x 768 screen resolution. It can be said that the card could play the game at medium setting.

Arctic Cooling HSF

Looking at the test results it can be said the card is quick. Eventhough it only has 48 Streaming Processors the overclocking did quite an effect and overall it offers a very good performance. Another testing using CUDA shows a good performance that would make it suitable for playing with images with Adobe Photoshop CS4.

Conclusion:
The Manli Geforce 9600OC 512MB GDDR3 is a card with good performance. A good choice for its class and it comes with very good HSF.

Specifications:
Chip: NVIDIA Geforce 9600OC ™
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 512 MB
Core Clock: 650 MHz
Memory Clock: 900 MHz
Shadder: 1625 Mhz
HDTV output: Available
DVI output: Available
HDMI output: Not Available
Jenis Memory: GDDR3
Memory interface: 256-bit
Package: Quick Guide, CD Driver, HDMI Donggle, DVI, Donggle, SPDIF, PCI Converter

Benchmark:
3DMarks Vantage : P4175
Company of Heroes DX9: 59.8
Company of Heroes DX10: 33.7
F.E.A.R.: 143
Quake 4: 155.7

source CHIP Magazine.

PixelView GF 9500GT 1 GB GDR2 128 BIT Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:15:30 +0000

The PixelView GF 9500GT 1 GB GDR2 128 BIT comes with a generic documentation, but the documentation within the driver CD is much more comprehensive. Besides giving an instruction of how to install the card physically, it also gives how to use the nVidia control panel, the rest within the CD is DirectX 9c.

The features and the performance this card gives is not too special compared to others alike, but this card could be maximized for watching HD films that runs on HD 1080p. While testing, there were no film that had a jagged effect displayed.

PixelView GF 9500GT 1 GB GDR2 128 BIT

The results for this graphic card is satisfying and could compete evenly with rivals in its class. The 1 GB memory feels to be too much as other cards of this type could already runs very well with 512 MBs of memory.

The HSF which comes with the card have done the job very well, but it’s supported by two holder pins. So, becareful when you try to install in on a PC.

Conclusion:
If you’re choosing this card for its 1 GB of memory then it would be an unwise choice, but with its low price and performance this card is very acceptable. Unfortunately Prolink didn’t shipped the card with a stronger supporting pins.

Pros:

Cheap price

Cons:

Minimum documentation

Benchmark Results:
3DMarks Vantage : P1471
Company of Heroes DX9: 48.9
Company of Heroes DX10: 17.2
F.E.A.R.: 68
Quake 4: 74.1

Source CHIP Magazine

Linksys WRT54G2 Wireless Router Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:55:05 +0000

If you remember the Linksys WRT54G router which has square box design with dual antennas in its back with a dominan blue and black color on its body. But in this series Lynksys has change the entire characteristic drastically. Linksys WRT54G2 now looks so slim and covered with black shiny plastic material that it gives the product a very minimalistic design.

The antenas are now located inside the body. On the front you’ll see indicator lights and a button for quick setup. This device is a wireless brodband router. With it you could start a small network in a home or SOHO that will connect to the internet using broadband or ADSL connection. Just plug the UTB cable from the modem to this Linksys WRT54G2 at the back of the device, and now yout internet is instantly shared.

Pros:

Mimalis design
Easy network setup

Cons:

Hot while transfering data

Specifications:

Interface: 100 Base-TX
Support: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g
Frequency Range: 2.412 – 2.462 MHz
Antenna: 2 (internal)
Port 10/100: 4 port
Dimention: 203 x 35 x 160 mm
Weight: 0.28 KG
OS Support: Windows Vista/Xp/MacOS

source CHIP Magazine

Toshiba MK5055GSX 500GB HDD Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:45:57 +0000

It can’t be subjected that notebook sales have already passes desktops sales, and so notebook users will eventually need an aditional space for their notebooks. Toshiba now tries to offer a new HDD type MK5055GSX which has a capacity of 500 GBs. A very good option for notebook users who needs to increase the space within their notebooks.

The tests shows that the Toshiba MK5055GSX HDD is equipped with 8 MB cache and read at an average rate of 59.7 MB/s. The writing speed is about 59.3 MB/s average, this data shows that the HDD has a quite fast transfer rate, eventhough it spins at 5400 RPM. The read and write access time is about 20.4 ms and 20.5 ms respectively.

Spesifications:
Capacity: 500 GB
Interface: SATA 3 Gb/s
Buffer: 8MB
Rotation Speed: 5400 RPM
Dymention: 100 x 69.85 x 9.5 mm
Weight: 102 g

Altec Lansing FX3022 2.1 Speaker Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:31:35 +0000

Altec Lansing is back with their unique design, the twin tower design in this FX3022 series. A longthrow 1.5″ driver is placed at the top of each speakers, and at the bottom of each speakers is hidden a 4″ subwoofer that faces the bottom. But this so-called compact design must pay a price, an external adaptor is required to power this speakers.

The sound quality of the speakers is surely undoubtable, it’s very good. The sound level is quite balanced and clear. Altough it looks small, the downfiring concept of the submoofer gives a round feel of the bass with balanced intensity. Unfortunately this speakers is not suitable to run on its maximum level, because the low tone is not very deep. Placement of the speakers will also determine the sound quality. An ideal place would be a wooden desk to place this speakers.

Pros:

High quality sound
Unique design

Cons:

Bass sounds sometime’s dissaponting

Spesifications:

Subwoofer: 4” / 9 W / 4 ohm
Satelit: 1,5” / 3,5 W / 12 ohm
Freq. Respons: 40 Hz – 16 kHz (-10 dB)
S/N Ratio: >85 dB (@1 kHz input)
RMS: 25 W (total)

Source CHIP Magazine

Viewsonic VX2262wmp LCD Monitor Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:16:35 +0000

Viewsonic is trying to reach the heart of its consumer with their latest product that has a characteristic combination of style and performance. Behind its stylish black glossy beauty it has a very interesting spesification, such as 1680×1050 resolution and a fast response time of 2 ms.

Viewsonic vx2262wmp

When the CHIP team first try this product, the default LCD brightness feels a bit too high so we need to calibrate a little. But for the rest this LCD gives a very good color range. HD video testing of this LCD displays a very good detail. The same results goes to photo testing and text display. It’s also very suitable for gaming as it has a very quick response of 2 ms.

The menu button on the bottom

This 22″ wide LCD looks preety solid even though it got a small leg. The base is solid because it’s reinforced with steel plating. Two WOW speakers are also beautifully hidden, but this makes the menu button hard to be found.

Pros:

Onboard speaker

Cons:

No DVI

Spesifications:
Type: 22” widescreen
Resolution: 1680×1050
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Response Time: 2 ms
Weight: 5,6 kg

source CHIP magazine

ECS GF 9500GT 512MB GDR3 128 BIT Graphics Card Review

Desktop PC Hardware — Thu, 14 May 2009 03:37:03 +0000

This ECS graphics card combines 32 stream processors within the NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT GPU with 512 MB DDR3 memory. Ecs uses the Qimonda chip for these memories. This kind of chip is known for their overclocking capabilities.

HSF for this graphics card is very standard. It’s small and doesn’t look like other heavy-duty HSF. The SPD/IF connector for this graphic card is located at the left side of the SLI slot. Around the GPU you could see 4 pieces of DDR3 memories on each side of the card.

ECS GeForce 9500gt

Eventough the package comes with standard contents, the documentary is quite informative. Presented in four different languages the documentary also includes the way to install the card properly, how to install the SPD/IF, and the driver instalation.

The testing with games and 3DMark Vantage concluded that this graphic card is able to deliver a very good performance in its class. The HSF even though quite small does a very good job in cooling it down, even at its maksimum payload.

SPD/IF connector

In the overcloking test, the score is quite satisfiying. The core clock could be raised up to 600 MHz from the original 550 MHz. The memory clock could also be raised from 1600 MHz to 1650 MHz. The result is the performance increases by 10 percents.

Conclusion:
The product is an example of a graphic card suitable for HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer), especially because it provides an HDMI output. The performance itself is very good, and can play older games with quite high details.

Spesifications:
Chip: NVIDIA Geforce 9500GT™
Interface: PCI Express x16
Memori: 512 MB
Core Clock: 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 1600 MHz
Shader: 1375 Mhz
HDTV output: Available
DVI output: Available
HDMI output: Available
Jenis Memory: GDDR3
Memory interface: 128-bit
Package: Quick Guide, CD Driver, HDMI Converter, DVI Converter, SPD/IF

Benchmark:
3DMark Vantage : P1991
Company of Heroes DX9: 53.3
Company of Heroes DX10: 28.2
F.E.A.R.: 78
Quake 4: 89.1

The product is tested with the following testbed system:
Mainstream Mobo: MSI P35-NEO2 FIR
Extreme Mobo: ASUS Maximus
ATI Graphics: Sapphire Radeon HD3870
NVIDIA Graphics: Gigabyte GeForce 8800GT
Memory: Corsair DDR2-PC6400, DDR2-PC8500, DDR3
Hard Disk: Western Digital Caviar 160GB 7200RPM, Raptor
Power Supply: Tagan 700W, 800W, 1100W
Flash Memory: Kingston UFD, SDHC, SD, MicroSD, CF
Keyboard & Mouse: Genius USB, optical
Optical Drive: AOpen DVD-RW 2012S
Cooling System: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7Pro/64Pro dan Accelero X1/X2

source CHIP Magazine