$1999 graphics card tested

PROFESSIONAL GRAPHICS might not be as exciting as enthusiast graphics, but one segment is pulling the other from behind. The 3D Professor has gotten hold of a Quadro FX 4800 and tested it in both old and new platforms (Dual Xeon vs. Core i7). Performance has come up quite a bit, according to the Prof, but he was expecting a bit more from the card. No comparison to the Fire GL, though. Read the review, here.

PC Perps has another made-to-order Nvidia review with the same five games we’ve seen plastered all over the Wibble. Aptly named “How to waste your time”, it shows the GTX 260 Core 216 winning the same five benchmarks over the HD 4870 1GB. PR at its best.

Hardware Canucks is going over the Silverstone Fortress FT01 mid-tower case. The full-aluminium case sports some serious air flow while maintaining with the Empire’s... sorry, Silverstone’s usual aesthetics. PSU plugs in at the bottom and you can stick in extra-long graphics cards. Setting up the insides is also a breeze. Pricey, but worth it, it seems.

Left 4 Dead is being hailed as one of the most fun and mindless games to play today. Guru 3D, taking up on this proposal, has been playing it non-stop on 23 different graphics cards so you know if it runs on your machine. The game uses the Source engine, and will play on some of the puniest graphics cards out there. Not everyone is playing at 1920x1200 or 2560x1600, you see?

XBit is breaking-in some new 'heat-pipe direct' coolers from Xigmatek (HDT-SD964, HDT-S1284+Crossbow) and OCZ (Gladiator Max). This second generation of heat-pipe direct coolers seem to bring with them some improvements, but noise is, oddly, an issue. The 120mm SD1284 and OCZ Gladiator are equally priced, but Xigmatek is ahead of the game, there.

Patriot’s Warp V2 SSD is being reviewed by Benchmark Reviews. The V2 brings Patriot to the competition’s level, but the pricing on these drives are sure to make some headlines. The 128GB Warp V2 SSD is being sold on Newegg.com for $375. That’s a pretty impressive price, if you ask us. Read it here.

French site Revioo.com is looking at Gainward's HD 4870 GS. Now, this could get people confused when they see 'GS', as Nvidia used to use GS as a suffix for some versions of their cards. GS stands for Golden Sample here and it's a heavy legacy to carry. The great thing, it seems, is that the Golden Sample manages to squeeze a few extra frames with its factory overclock, without upping the price. Find the original here, and Googlenglished here. µ