Core i7 870QM frenzy

SOMEONE WAS ASKING the other day, why the heck would we want a Core i7 laptop sucking away all the power from our laptops, and why would we need 8 threads? Well PC Pro has the answer: a Core i7 870QM draws almost half the power as a Q9000 and will still provide workstation-class performance...

As RV870 draws close, Xbit Labs has written up an overview of ATI’s 4xxx series graphics cards, from the lowliest HD 4650 to the powerful HD 4890, they’re all there.

George the master of Hillbilly Hardware has installed the ATI Catalyst 9.9 drivers to see the overall improvements in performance – which aren’t many. This is more or less common, isn’t it? Put out some minor game improvement (notice singular “game” not “games”) and if we’re lucky get an extra feature (we weren’t).

Think Computers has some ear candy the ABS FX-7 USB lightweight Dolby Virtual 7.1 headset. Good on performance, not so good on comfort. It’s also quite affordable if you consider what it involves.

MSI introduced a new P55 motherboard this past week, the P55-GD65. This board outguns its brethren when it comes to overclocking the LGA1156 processors, so it really is aimed at the enthusiast who wants to try out every little setting.

Overclocker’s Club has done a roundup of all things shiny and AMD in the realm of Gigabyte motherboards. It does show that AMD had its mind in the right place when it came up with the 790X chipset.

PureOC is having a bit of fun with Antec’s Sonata Elite case. It appears to have some air flow issues that Steve says might rear its head in high-performance systems, but the build quality is great.

Legit Reviews tested the CyberPower Gamer Xtreme 3000 system. Well, in a nice way, it simply delivers performance without breaking the bank. For just $1600 you get a wicked machine to chew away frames in Batman Arkham Asylum et al.

Hot Hardware has a review of BFG’s GTX 295 H2OC, the liquid-cooled version of the flagship GPU. It’s supposed to be a pre-assembled sort of kit, but it does have some set-up issues. That and the fact that it costs $850 (*cough*).

Tweak Town has a custom-cooled HD 4890, the HIS Radeon HD 4890 iCooler x4 1GB. HIS has opted for a bit of compromise between cooling and noise. Shane says it’s good up to 1920x1200, otherwise you’re better off with the green goblin.

Silent PC Review has published Part Deux to their Low-Profile LGA775 heatsink roundup. The first part you can find here. In this installment there are a few new fans, but the Scythe Shuriken really shines.

French site Revioo has come up with an interesting concept: how far can you get away with undervolting an Athlon II X4 620? How much can you save in power consumption? Well, it seems you can downvolt some 0.2 volts and save 37W overall on your system… now that’s pretty good. µ