Smooth Creations Hellcat review

SMOOTH CREATIONS is shipping its first Core i7 kit - dubbed the Hellcat – and TweakTown is on the receiving end. Smooth Creations specialises in giving their units custom artwork, which makes them really one of a kind. Add to that a Core i7 setup with Quadfire coming out the back and you’d expect it to spit fire too... worth reading on looks alone.

If you’re a hard-core overclocker, this little item at PC Perps might tickle your fancy. NZXT makes the Sentry LCD Fan Controller. Although it robs you of two 5.25-inch bays, it provides valuable feedback (and eye candy) on the status of your system. Its main fault, we guess, is it doesn’t support PWM fans, which is a big downer. Still, worth looking into.

RB Mods has a freaky little piece of kit, coming out of the Evercool workshops. It’s a wrist rest that blows air down your wrist and palm so you don’t sweat as much when playing those fast-paced, high-adrenaline games. It works, says Niko, but you’ve really got to see it to believe it.

Anandtech is looking at the costs of running a PC. Everyone knows that quad-core rig you set up last year upped the power bill, but now you’ve got a bona fide tech site attesting to the fact. Christopher was also sensitive to the difference in pricing between Europe and the US (and even then, there are States that have much cheaper power). Find out how much you’re blowing on electrickery due to inefficient power supplies et al, here.

Logitech’s WiLife digital video security system is being reviewed at The Gadgeteer. Actually it’s a two-fold review as it includes the indoor version and the outdoor version. These things work wonders, but are also very demanding on the system that’s running the surveillance. You even need a decent graphics card. Read about the latest gadgetry, here.

Intomobile – a site we’re adding to our “lookout list” – reviewed a Tosh oddity, the G450 phone/mp3 player/memory stick/broadband dongle. You pick. It’s got a pretty weird design but it performs its tasks well nonetheless. Ben says the phone is available in Blighty for about £140... not bad. Give it a look.

You can find a review of BFG’s GTX 260 Maxcore – the one with 216 shader processors – at Hardware Canucks. This product edges the level of the GTX 280, but at a more reasonable price, and it doesn’t even make much noise – which is always welcome. BFG slaps a lifetime warranty on it, too, so it’s good value through and through. Get the review, here.

Guru 3D snapped up a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5P, another X58 mobo. It seems the memory problem isn’t as simple as most mobo makers tend to make it, as Hilbert stumbled on some compatibility issues. However, he’s giving Gigabyte the benefit of the doubt on this one. The board also comes loaded to bear, so it’s got great value on top. Read the review, here.

India’s ‘premier tech site’, Tech Enclave tested Palit’s Revolution 700 Deluxe HD 4870X2 kit. A non-reference X2, the card wipes the floor with the competition without making so much as a peep (OK, OK, maybe not so). Cons are pretty glaring, it takes up three slots of your setup and is as long as heck, further interfering with your PC innards. Still, 10/10 on performance. Read it here. µ