THE OC INTELLIGENCE AGENCY is definitely in couch-potato mode testing Logitech’s Dinovo Mini Keyboard. It’s a teeny, very cool, BT keyboard that operates your PC and/or your PS3. It’s also backlit so you can type comfortably without making too many typos. Shawn lacked a PS3 to try it out, though, but if it performs as good as it does in Media Center, there’s no reason not to run out and get one. If we had one, we’d spend a lot more time on our couch. Read on.

Real World Tech published a pretty thorough architecture analysis a while back. It’s a really good eye-opener into the mysteries of Nehalem and, how many have called it, it’s kinship to AMD’s own Barcelona architecture. However, this is the first architectural overhaul Intel performs on its chipper since the introduction of Core, and the first step (and perhaps the most difficult one) in prepping themselves for the coming 10 years. It can’t get more technical than this, wethinks.

IT Reviews has a short and to-the-point analysis of the micro-ATX Abit I-N73HD. This is a GeForce 7100 single-chip board that supports everything Intellish except the 1600MHz FSB variety. It’s cheap, very cheap, and has HDMI and D-SUB (but no DVI). £49 seems like a good start for your cheap-o HTPC, although, granted, a 780G motherboard will probably give it a run for its money (at least in graphics processing). The GeForce 7100 core won’t help you much if you’re watching HD video, now will it? Cheap HTPCing over here.

Samsung is still pushing its Q1 UMPC platform with a new model based on Intel’s Core Solo U1500 (1.33GHz). The Q1 Ultra Premium is on review at Laptop Mag. It has a split QWERTY keyboard for thumb typing, we presume, framing the 7-inch screen . It’s lightweight but the review fails to mention what kind of battery life it has. It’s also pretty pricey for something that’s more like a MID than a UMPC. HP’s Mini-Note seems to be cheaper and carries more features. Read on.

Les Numériques has a round-up of external storage devices. Using two RAIDed WD Raptor 36GB for comparison, they came up with some interesting scores. All sorts of benchmarketing available, with whatever each enclosure supports – eSATA, USB 2.0, FireWire 400 or FireWire 800. No NAS though, so it’s strictly local storage. WD’s MyBook takes the cake, right here (or here, in English).

OCWorkbench has a review of another hybrid mobo from Asrock. This company is known for its different approach to mobo engineering, and the K10N750SLI-WiFi NForce 750A SLI is no exception. Based on Nvidia’s new single 750a SLI chip for AMD’s processors, it implements AMD’s PSI technology, which allows the motherboard to monitor the CPU load and shut down power phases as the load gets lighter. This’ll save you a buck or two on the energy bill. Catch it here.

Madshrimps have written up a detailed comparison of Intel and AMD’s quad-core contenders. Although AMD has no contender for the high-end, Intel’s Q9300 and AMD’s Phenom X3 9850 duke it out big time. Whether your fanboyism screams green or blue, you’ll enjoy the article, as it shows another angle some sites have missed: 9850 gives you better bang for your buck (and the mobos are likely to be cheaper too!). Read the shrimp lit here. µ