NEHALEM ISN’T THAT FAR OFF and Intel has demoed plenty of prototypes across the globe. Mobo makers are the guys to look for if you want to do what Maximum PC did: they rang up their people who let them in to their labs and play around with Nehalem for a bit. Sure they didn’t have it on hand for long, but long enough to draw some conclusions about the performance. The tri-channel DDR3 controller on Intel Bloomers-field CPU isn’t all that hot right now, according to Gordon, but that will certainly change down the line. Lots o’ money shots right here.

If you’re on the market for a Wireless Media Adapter, you might like to read this review here. This device is called the Audioengine AW1, and it’s a really simple way of streaming audio around your place. Justin thinks it’s dead simple to setup and use, and worth looking into. Give it a look, why don’t you?

Sapphire’s Toxic series graphics cards are slightly overclocked and feature an advanced cooling system. The HD 4850 – as a reference design – was in dire need of a better cooling system. Sapphire did it, TweakTown got a couple of Toxic 4850s and crossfired them. Results are anywhere between good and great, but these come at a cost: a massive 364W power consumption at load… Still, it kicks booty.

We mentioned yesterday that Powerline was failing miserably against other networking techs, in particular 802.11n. Hexus got round to doing some of their own testing with this sort of technology. Unless it gets seriously revamped, it's little more than a way to get you online without doing serious file transfers. Location, power fluctuations and noise are terrible on these little devices. Read about it here.

Lawrence at Silent PC Review is reviewing an ATX-sized 780G mobo from Asus. The board is called the M3A78Pro. This board has – apart from the standard 780G features – the hootin’ tootin’ Express Gate built in. This’ll let you “instant-on” to a light Linux OS with several useful apps. You also get the option for Hybrid CrossfireX and the full array of Phenoms (140W). If you’re in need of a light desktop PC this might be a good way of getting one. Read about it here.

Lately VIA has come up with several demos where its Nano marchitecture severely kicks Atom around the block. Well, Pocketables found a video of a Sharp MID playing back 1080p HD video without any skipping or jerky motion. You can watch the video on their website, just follow this link.

Dell has a new line of PCs called the Studio Hybrid. It looks like an external HD unit (only bigger) and according to the company it’s one-fifth the size of a regular PC. This is done by using laptop components instead of the regular desktop type. It’s got 3 USB ports and a FireWire 400 plug (great for external disc drives), and you even have an option for a TV Tuner. Prices start at $499 which isn’t bad (although seriously underpowered). Read PCW’s review, here.

HTPC enthusiasts are benefitting from this sudden competition between AMD and Intel in the IGP and low-power chipset business. Stuff like this brings prices down – way down – and now you can get a very decent – well thought-out motherboard for an HTPC for next to nothing. No more jerky video, no more slideshow 3D games. One of these examples if the Intel micro-ATX DG45ID. Trusted Reviews and Extremetech have separate reviews on this one, and we can say it offers a lot of what you’d want from an HTPC unit. They’re very pleased with the kit as it is…

We missed out on Tech Report’s coverage of AMD’s 790GX chipset yesterday, so here it is today. Sorry guys, we have much love for you. O-X-O. µ