Nehalem-EP packs a wallop

ALTHOUGH WE'VE already published a couple of Inqpressions (here and here) on the new Nehalem-EP Xeons, the 3DProfessor has quite a unique article on the matter. As his is the business of workstations and graphics processing, you can see the Prof take on FirePro and Quadro graphics cards with the new Xeons.

The gun-toting freak that lurks deep inside your subconscious will thank us for this link to Techware Labs' literal hard-drive shoot-out. Mossberg shotgun included.

Xbit Labs is showing how the low-end HD 4670 in CrossfireX can bare its teeth and growl a bit at the competition. 85 per cent average scaling seems to be more than appealing.

Think Computers has some heavy metal casing in the lab. The NZXT Zero 2 full tower weighs in at 10.2Kg with no power supply and costs very little for a full tower, says Greg. Give it a look.

The Tech Lounge tests the Zotac GeForce GTX 295 graphics card. Max got some nice overclocking numbers - both on memory and core. Expensive, but worth it, seems to be the message.

The Tech Report has a review of the Zotac GeForce 9300-ITX Wi-Fi motherboard. This is as small as you can get without killing performance outright. Those low-power Intel quads should work wonders...

... like this one at Inside HW. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400s sips just 65 watts of power, ideal for diminutive systems or HTPC rigs and like Vlad says, doesn't take anything away from the formula.

Tom's Hardware Store also has some Zotac goodies, namely the GTX 285 Infinity, a liquid-cooled version of Nvidia's top single-GPU performer that has some oddly high temps.

Although the GTS 250 was nothing really new, it did introduce lower power consumptions across the board. Silent PC Review is testing Sparkle's 1GB GTS 250.

If you're looking for a case with some stealthiness, you've got the ThermalTake Element S mid tower case. It's got plenty of airflow and is padded on the inside to cut noise. It has its shortcomings, but nothing you can't overcome yourself.

OZ Hardware takes Intel's SS4200-E NAS system for a spin. The Celeron-driven kit was tested with 4x1TB WD drives and it looks like a solid, quiet performer.

Legit Reviews has an N81Vp gaming notebook from Asus on the bench. The 14-incher will suit both gamers and suits, with its fingerprint scanner and sober looks.

Overclockers Online has some Highpoint rocketry in motion. The RocketRAID 2680 and 4320 are both tested. How about 500MB/s average sequential read?

Sapphire also markets PSUs, it seems. Driver Heaven has a FirePSU 625W, designed for the workstation market. The PSU is actually an Enermax unit, but it fits the bill.

Guru of 3D tested the Gigabyte Geforce GTX 285. It's what Hilbert calls a "budget" GTX 285, but it's still ~320 €urobucks.  You do get all the performance you'd expect.

Extremetech has published its guide to making a killer gaming PC. Find out what $4,340 gets you, and how obscenely fast it is.

Hot Hardware is also looking at a couple of lowpower stars from Intel, the Q8200s and Q9550s, to be exact. Again, you pay extra for the light-footed CPUs.

Last but not least, Tweaktown gave the Hitachi Deskstar E7K1000 1TB Enterprise HDD a look-over. It's an average performer, but Chris says it gives you some peace of mind you won't find on standard desktop drives. µ