DX10 benchmarks are a nest of marchitectural vipers

WHEN YOURS TRULY saw Call of Juarez in DX10 for very first time, needless to say that I was impressed by the image quality. However, when it comes to using this game as a DX10 benchmark, we had some doubts seeing a title that was originally sponsored by Nvidia (a member of TWIMTBP) - as something that AMD recommended. Then, Nvidia show up from nowhere and showed Lost Planet, conversion from ATi-powered console (Xbox 360) and supported under the TWIMTBP marketing umbrella. And there are editors openly disappointed at the situation - both Duane from DocMartensDaily and Ryan from PC Perspective voiced out their concerns. My personal take is very simple: bring on native DX10 apps such as Age of Conan, Crysis, Hellgate: London, Unreal Tournament III and others. Everything else is nothing but marketing stunts.

To stay in thriller mode, AlmostThere from TechARP wrote a editorial piece about dangers of buying engineering samples, especially Core 2 Duos. Hearing that you can actually buy an engineering sample immediately raises that red light in my head, but TechARP folk went on to explain what is actually wrong with these processors. Yep, they're stolen - so wherever they show up, be on maximum alert.

Elite Bastards started their Windows Vista 3D graphics performance, first using ATI DX9 hardware.

On the normal side of the fence, HardwareSecrets tested OCZ's StealthXStream 600W, power supply with silent 120mm fan and an attractive price bracket for available amount of power. XSReviews continued in their quest to find good cooling. This time, their review of ZEROtherm products does not include butterfly thingies, rather regular shaped coolers - CF800 and CF900.

If you want a good media case, Canadians from HardwareCanucks reviewed nMedia HTPC-400BA case, costing around 105 loonies. With money named loonie and sites named canucks, who would not love this country?

IT-Review decided to dig into the world of nForce 680i chipset straps, to see where performance will be limited. Guys managed to get to 1.98 GHz for the FSB, but the performance was not maximal at this clock. Head over and read what nForce 680i can, and what can't do.

LegitReviews dug out comparison between DDR2 and DDR3 memory, so head over there and check what's happening with Intel P35 Express chipset.

TweakTown decided to put Rydermark at ease and reviewed Samsung SGH-i710 smartphone, based on Windows Mobile 5 operating system.

Bjorn3D tested OCZ's Reaper HPC8500 DDR2 modules, which I remember to have quite an innovative cooling system. However, increased height will pose a problem for some case and Flex XLC just draws more attention...

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