ION nettop benchpressed

IF YOU'RE aching for a new type of HTPC, PC Games Hardware has an Acer Aspire Revo (oh my, another trademarked Psion name... sheesh). The Revo is based on the Nvidia Ion platform (Intel Atom + 9400 mGPU) and can deliver HD video in a tiny footprint. Could be the next gen of HTPCs...

George at Hillbilly Hardware has gotten round to doing his thing with the MSI HD 4890, a slightly tweaked reference design. A 30MHz overclock and no DisplayPort set it apart from the rest.

Anandtech pubbed a Phenom II buyer's guide so you can navigate the types of processors available and make up some configs of your own. Wesley thinks it's got the best value around.

Tom's Hardware Store is once again investigating SSDs and their fragmentation issues. Taking 3 of today's top performers, Patrick and Achim submitted the drives to all sorts of torture. Conclusion? Avoid fragmentation at all costs...

Benchmark Reviews has the Antec Nine Hundred Two, the newest incarnation of the series. The inclusion of a bigboy 200mm fan on top, ample space and easy cable routing are big pros. Fan filters and external fan controls just add cherries to the top of the cake, it seems.

If you're looking to power a tri-SLI or QuadFire rig then look no further. Bjorn3D has a review of the SilverStone Zeus 1200W PSU. You won't see lightning bolts flying out of your PC's rear end, that's for sure.

Thrusted Reviews has a budget Samsung laptop on the bench. The Samsung R522, 15.6-inch notebook is supposed to deliver a full set of features at a reasonable price range, which it does. You even get HDMI outputs, card reader, ExpressCard and an eSATA port.

Extremetech is in its second installment of their "Building a Windows 7 Computer" feature. The first one focused on choosing components, while number 2 is all about turning the case into something usable. Others will follow.

PC Perps took a trip down to Fountain Valley, California, thanks to an invite from Kingston. The memory maker had Steve over for a tour of their memory assembly facility.

The AC Ryan Playon! DVR TV box is a simple way to to get your videos hooked up to your TV or even just network them around the house. Bit Tech liked it, but no support for HD leaves it a bit wanting, tho'

Tweak Town looks on to the Thecus N7700 7-drive NAS server. This delivers a 7-drive NAS on a budget with all the server trappings (RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10), IPP, FTP, Bit Torrent, HTTP, Webdisk, cloning software etc etc etc.

Phoronix looks at that Asrock flagship, the X58 Supercomputer motherboard. The board is kind on Linux, provided you've got an updated BIOS. Chock-full of features like QuadFire and SLI, six memory slots for a hair under $300.

Legit Reviews also tested the same X58 Supercomputer mobo. Jason notes that not only performance outpaces the Intel DX58SO, but you've also got Instant Boot technology to speed up boot times. Apparently it's a fun overclocker too...

Dev Hardware tests the Sonos Multiroom Audio System. You might think a mere "audio" system isn't worth it, but Sonos now gives you control over the system with a mere iPod. µ