SSD delivers smackdown on Raptor X

PCSTATS was blessed with a 128GB SSD unit from Super Talent. This unit presents itself in standard 2.5-inch format and has next to nothing power consumption. Faced-off with a Raptor X unit from WD, the SSD kicks some ass and pulls ahead in the random access/gazillions-of-small-files tests, as expected. This is really just a taste of what’s to come when SSD prices come a-tumblin’ down. Right now it’s a paltry $4000.

It seems that Nvidia had a bunch of Tri-SLI systems ready to pounce as soon as the NDAs ended. Yesterday’s bout at PC Games Hardware was just a pre-emptive strike, it seems, as according to these chaps here, and those over there, they’ve just had enough time to bench this kit. Mind you, the PSUs for this setup have to be really powerful. On the other hand, most of us won’t even get a sniff at a 3-way SLI system, it’s just obscenely expensive.

For those actually looking for any SSD they can afford, you’ve got the Mtron Professional Series 16GB SSD over at Next Level Hardware. This “little” HDD would make an excellent boot drive for most systems and retails for the tidy sum of $799. However, do take into account that SSDs don’t play well with Intel’s ICH and the reviewer was using his after-market SATA RAID controller to operate the drive.

Hardware Logic thinks your neighbours curse you under their breath when you’re playing UT3. So they got just the thing for you: a SteelSeries 3H USB set of h eadphones. It’s decently priced and doesn’t seem to carry the usual drawbacks of USB audio devices. It’s yours for $50.

HTC, the purveyor of all things smartphone, has launched its Touch Dual and let it rip at IT Reviews. They like the TouchFLO, but think it’ll be a dealbreaker for some users – especially those with fat fingers we think, as it has a 2.6-inch screen. No Wi-Fi in case you’re wondering, and it’ll ring to the tone of a sweet £369.95.

About the same time Disney came up with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Asus came out with its own Black Pearl – in this case an anniversary edition. OCC takes a look at the P5K3 – a P35-based board – with 2GB of integrated (yes, you read it right) DDR3 memory. The P5K3 BP edition is also built to be used with either air- or water-cooling. Apparently it’s an overclocker’s dream with a vast array of copper sinks and no “moving parts” to establish the so-called zero failure threshold. No price available for this critter, but we’d expect to pay upwards of $500. It’s just one of those enthusiast out-of-the-box experiences.

Legion Hardware took a $1200 piece of hardware (a QX9650) and upped the multiplier until they reached 4GHz, easy enough. It’s an engineering sample, that’s how they did it. Mind you, you won’t be able to try that at home, as you’ll have to up the FSB and that brings along a whole mess of issues. They also used DDR3-1600 during the OC, so it’s synched 1-to-1. Performance gains were considerable in non-gaming benchmarks, which shows that Quad-cores are still a long-way-away from being the ideal choice for gamers... at least from a value standpoint.

Yesterday, we mistakenly linked the wrong address to the Think Computer DuOr b review. Here’s the right one. Sorry chaps. µ