Hardware News & Reviews

My latest news is the build of my new Intel Socket 1155 Core i5 2500k PC. There's a bit of a gallery of images of the build and some benchmark screenies below… I have written a blog of the build which was thoroughly enjoyable and has provided me with hours of guilty pleasure hiding away from the family.

I also recently got on the SSD bandwagon, purchasing a 60GB Corsair Force GT SSD. The review goes through the performance figures, but also explains how to balance the need for capacity for your media library with the pure unadulterated pleasure of high-speed-computing that the 60GB Corsair Force GT provides.

My New Sandy Bridge 1155 Rig Build

Here is a look at my private miniatures collection. Pokémon, D&D, Naruto and a whole host of other things I collect.

My Miniatures Gallery

Latest Hardware News/Reviews

| Archive | DDR3 | SSDs | P55 |

Sorry, it's been AGES since I last posted. I've been busy working on the implementation of a WebSphere Commerce website for a large Aussie retailer. There's been plenty of news – the most significant of which was the launch of ATI's new category killer the HD5970. Easily the fastest card on the market and making nVidia fanbois (like myself) think about changing teams. Of course the big thing about the ATI 5-series cards is their support for DX11. Here is a selection of reviews and a rundown of titles currently available or coming out on DX11 – looks to be picking up some steam…
Other minor stories are the proliferation of second edition P55 mobos sporting USB3 and SATA 6Gbps. It's my take that USB3 will be more useful in the short term, while the drives and controllers mature on the SATA (III) 6Gbps interface.
And while you're here, why not have a go at Ice Fu, my Java Applet platform game :)

• ATI's Dual HD5970:
  • Nordic Hardware look at the HD5970
  • Legit Reviews take a look at one and two HD5970s
  • HD5970 price check on Static Ice
  • An overiew of current and future DX11 titles
• P55 Mobos:
  • In Australia, ASUS has released it's new -E series P55 motherboards featuring USB3 and SATA 6Gbps support. They come at a moderate premium to the standard boards in terms of price. Strangely, the Asus P7P55D-E-PRO and the Asus P7P55D-E-EVO seem to be selling at the same price – which makes the Asus P7P55D-E-EVO a pretty sweet deal.
  • Techspot have an interesting Intel P55 Motherboard Roundup. This doesn't include the revision 2 boards – but if you don't need USB3 or SATA 6Gbps, then the review of other features is very comprehensive.
  • Asus P7P55D PRO Reviewed @ Tech Gage
  • Asus Maximus III Formula @ Hardware Canucks
• Some reviews of the exciting Lucid Hydra technology – allowing a mix of GPUs from any manufacturer/camp:
  • Lucid Hydra 200 MultiGPU Performance Revealed
  • Hands on with Lucid's Hydra GPU load balancer (+results)
• P55-specialty RAM:
  • G.Skill Releases the World’s Fastest DDR3 2200 CL7 Memory Modules
  • Trident G. Skill DDR3 2000
  • Patriot Sector 5 2x2GB 2000MHz Cas 8 Review
  • Kingston HyperX 4GB 2133MHz @ Future Looks

SATA 6Gbps is hot news… But there is a downside with the current Intel motherboard implementations – in order to enable the bandwidth required, some PCIe lanes need to be 'stolen' from the GPU subsystem. Tweaktown have a particularly good article explaining the details and showing how ASUS have a clever solution to avoid the pitfalls

• ASUS U3S6 the first to experience the hard disk USB3.0 & SATA6Gb
• ECS Readies USB 3.0 and SATA 6 Gb/s Addon Cards, Too
• 2TB Seagate Barracuda XT @ Neoseeker
• SATA 6G Implementation Preview - Ironing Out The Creases
• Coming under the heading of 'tech I would love to own'…
  • Corsair Obsidian 800D – already on sale in Aus, albeit for ~$400, this will definitely be my next case. Heaps of space, great cable management and quiet 140mm fans. This is a real winner
  • Enermax Revolution 850W – if you don't have the money of the 1250W version, which is my personal favourite PSU, then the Enermax Revolution 850W has to be right up there. I have been running several incarnations of PCs on my Enermax Noisetaker 600W and they make the most reliable PSUs money can buy. Highly recommended
  • A look at the 100-core Tilera Gx – moving from the virtual world to the 'just plain dreaming' world, wouldn't we all like a 100-core CPU? :)
• And finally a collection of other hot reviews…
  • Nvidia quash MSI's Lucid powered ‘Big Bang’ board – in a big blow to some upcoming promising technology, nVidia is rumoured to be derailing the Lucid Hydra (multi-brand, multi-GPU) chip via code in its Forceware drivers ;(. After having a shocking year, nVidia seem determined to ruin everyone else's fun too.
  • Lynnfield i5 or i7 - This is the Question – world famous OCer Chainbolt answers the question on everyones' lips - i5 or i7?
  • Patriot Viper II Sector 5 PVV34G2000LLK – DDR3-2000 C8 action from Patriot
  • Corsair Dominator 4GB 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel Memory Review – a solid if not spectacular performer
  • ECS Elitegroup P55H-A – top range performance on a budget
  • CentOS 5.4 vs. OpenSuSE 11.2 vs. Ubuntu 9.10 Benchmarks – a comparison of the latest in free LINUX distros. Bit of an Ubuntu fanboi myself, but there is much to like from all offerings reviewed

Crucial Links

• Overclockers Australia – News, forums and an active Aussie hardware community
• XtremeSystems Forums – Forums featuring the worlds best overclockers and a broad hardware community
• i4memory – A completely comprehensive site reviewing all aspects of memory and hosting a vibrant community forum. From the famous Australian overclocker Eva2000
• supercalifrigginawesome – The latest in technology and gaming
• home cinema systems shop online for home cinema systems at low internet prices and fast home delivery service - avcinema.co.uk
• Static Ice – best Aussie PC Parts search engine
• MSY – cheapest parts around. In most Aus states
• PCM – Another cheap store – but better service. Located in Oakleigh
• PCC – PC Case Gear – Huge range of essential gear and mods
• SCO – Scorpion Technologies – great service and good deals
• CPL – Computer and Parts Land – cheap prices
• TechPowerUp – All the latest in hardware and software downloads
• Xbit Labs – Very reputbale review site
• Anadtech – Reputbale review site with an angle

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