16 water cooling systems under test

XBIT LABS wrote about 16 water cooling systems. One of the most complete roundups on the subject and a true tribute to their wonderful writing talent - really. The candidates come from all over th world. Aucma, Gigabyte, Coolermaster and lesser known like 3Rsystem or Promodz. Of course, you have beloved brands like Zalman, Asetek and Thermaltake. The testbed they use is a real eye opener to Xbitlabs DIY capabilities. Promodz's solution wins hands down while the Gigabyte Model is the best buy.

Motherboards.org reports on the Ultra Products Aluminus case review. This high priced model has some amazing features according to the review. As for all casing reviews, it is often a subjective point of view that can be disputed. Anyway, being made of aluminium, one can expect that it will have a silvery finish, spacious interior, reduced weight and good heat dissipation. This one however topped that with no fans or PSU. Parts and components installation though was a breeze.

PCStats tests the Patriot PDC22G8000+XBLK PC2-8000 DDR2 memory modules. They can reach DDR2-1000 speeds on CL5. Good news for future AM2 socket users. The Patriot modules are covered with a big black heatsink and are 1GB modules. A very quick and versatile piece of component which was unfortunately held back by the platform PCstats used for their test. With the right price and the right market presence, Patriot should very easily get close the best in the memory world.

The Auzentech HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS connect sound card is tested at extremeoverclocking. That's not a sound card that you will hear of often. It not only is Dolby Digital Live capable, but also DTS Connect 7.1. The chip is actually a C-Media CMI8770 and we might expect it to come on certain motherboards in a not so distant features. For now, Realtek seems to have a monopoly on on-board sound modules. The X-Plosion is comparable to the Creative X-Fi in terms of sound capabilities but outdid it when it comes to up-mix via SPDIF.

UK based Pocket Lint tests the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch laptop. Average battery life and average screen pull the ratings down. But hey, that's not that bad when you think of the looks and the power under its hood. I was and am still impressed by the level of details that even niche PC manufacturers like Voodoo and Dellienware can't touch. Light sensitive backlit keyboard and scrolling touchpad. I have to wonder why no one did that at Dell or IBM. FOr thereste, you get a GB of DDR2 memory, a Core Duo T2500 and 100GB HDD on top of the X1600.

IT reviews checks the Acer Travelmate 3010 which is an ultra portable laptop which comes with the Centrino Duo Mobile CPU. It weighs only 1.5KG and is the size of an A4 sheet. The 12.1-inch screen and the Empowering software - which regulates the power saving and features of the laptop, are the big let downs according to the reviewer. Comes with 1GB memory - now standard on most mid range laptops. Has a built in Camera, firewire, an external DVD writer and a Bluetooth phone. Good value for money but still work in progress. µ