All roads (still) lead to 8800GT

THE 8800GT IS most likely the biggest marketing coup Graphzilla's had in ages. The chip’s feature set and thermals have lead to an array of default OC’d versions being put out there, as is the case of MSI’s NX8800GT T2D512E-OC, reviewed at Xbit Labs. Not the brightest of implementations, they think, as it uses stock components, but performance was up there with the best. There’s an odd incompatibility with some mobos though, that Xbit couldn’t account for.

ITReviews.co.uk got their hands on a Microsoft Entertainment Desktop 8000 – it’s a media centre keyboard + laser mouse combo. What bothers ITReviews isn’t what it has but what it hasn’t: numeric keypad and legs to elevate the keyboard while typing. Its ergonomic, its backlit, its wireless, its lightweight – it sounds like it couldn’t miss the target, but somehow they have. Maybe it’s the price: £150. Your usual media center keyboard it is not.

OCC has a good read: a round-up of Socket AM2 and 775 board of the year contenders, in two categories – budget and high end. The budget mobos are mostly microATX affairs, while the higher end chippery is strictly ATX. The winners aren’t the usual suspects, mind you, ABit and ECS take 1st and 2nd respectively in the entry-level mobos, whilst in the high end it’s (again) ABit and DFI.

Alienware hasn’t been in the media as much as its rival Voodoo PC, but they’re still churning out massive laptop gaming machines. Frenchmen at Cowcotland dissected one of these aliens over here. Highly-specced, as usual in these machines, the Alienware m9750 offers gaming and multimedia performance that rivals most PC, in a “transportable” format, but as the editor notes – no HDMI, no eSATA. Now where’s the Blu-ray/HD-DVD, we ask? Apart from these small details, they are convinced it’s the way to go if you have about 3250 €urobucks.

Modders-Inc. have their first go at the HD3870, this one from Sapphire. Tazz, the reviewer, put in a mixed bag of benchies and results varied with the HD3870 either offering performance on par with an 8800GTS 320MB, without the AA/AF eye candy, or falling behind with the eye candy on. As the chip goes, it’s less of a drain on your system. They believe that although with a performance edging closer to the lower end of the 8800 family, this card is adequately priced. They recommend it.

The OC Intelligence Agency reviews the Sigma Shark PSU. Although it’s rated to 635W it’s not the power efficiency but the looks that give this PSU the edge. It’s inexpensive and it’s cabled to deal with all your needs. Even though it lacks SLI certification from NVIDIA, the author is sure the two +12v rails at 20A will take care of that. Give it a look, at under $100 it’s a well-priced PSU.

120mm fans are one of those really cheap/really useful add-ons that you know you’ll need (or not) the moment you turn on your newly built PC. OC Mod Shop looks at the Thermaltake iFlash 120mm fan, which, as it turns out, is full of LED lighting. Not only does it generate a LED display, it’s also programmable, which means it’s a really simple aftermarket modding kit that is cheap and looks really great.

Trusted Reviews is giddy with the storage capacity on Seagate’s Barracuda 7200.11 Terabyte HDD. If you think 1TB is a lot, just think of all the photos, videos, games, songs, etc, etc, etc, you’re backing up this holiday season. In the end it’s all up to what your system will fit (available bays) and what you’re willing to pay. At £175 a pop, the Seagate is worth its capacity, outclassing the equally-sized Hitachi disk in the benchmarks.

Stuff. Stuff that makes us hate people with tons of money. Think Computers has published their Holiday 2007 Price is no Object Guide. We couldn’t NOT post this one as its chock full of goodies that just make geeks want to sigh (ourselves included). 70-inch LCD Screens from Sony, or the ludicrously-priced Optimus Maximus OLED keyboard. Of course there are gifts we know will sell like hotcakes, stuff like the Diamond Iphone, yours for just $41K! µ