Ninjalane News

BFG Tech Sending Out RMA Denial Letters @ Hardware Canucks

Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

This is good considering the 3x GTX 260's I hunted high and low for are in fact BFG branded cards.  So not only were the cards impossible to find, but now seem to be part of history.

It looks like BFG has finally received the final nail within its coffin and is officially “….winding down and liquidating its business” in their own words.  Some of their customers who have recently sent in BFG video cards for RMA have begun receiving a letter from BFG along with their returned yet unrepaired product.

I guess paying extra for a well known brand like EVGA would have paid off in the end 

Sapphire Radeon HD5770 Flex Reviews

Published: Thursday, August 12, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Ninjalane

In celebration of our posting our review of the Radeon HD5770 Flex video card we're gonna feature some of the similar reviews from around the web.  This new "Flex" card is pretty unique in that it not only supports quad monitor setups but more importantly Eyefinity over DVI.

Aside from that it's just like every other HD5770 card out there.  Minus the overclocked ones, or cards with fancy watercoolers, or cards with snakes coming out of under the memory chips (which would be cool BTW)

- Sapphire HD5770 Flex @ LanOC Reviews
- GTX470 Vs 5770 CrossFire: Get in the ring special @ KitGuru
- Sapphire ATI 5770 1gig Flex Edition Video Card @ GeekInvaders
- Sapphire Radeon 5770 FleX @ PureOverclock
- XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB Single Slot Review @ Hardware Canucks
- Sapphire Radeon 5770 FleX Edition @ HardwareHeaven
- Funky Kit Review: HIS Radeon HD 5770 IceQ5 (1Gb GDDR5)

Sadly it would seem the Sapphire HD5770 didn't overclock very well, which isn't "that" much of a surprise, especially considering the hit or miss (keyword "miss") nature of overclocking with standard Sapphire product releases.

The Vapor-X stuff tends to do pretty well so all we can do is hold out for one of those cards to be released or better yet a dually version of the HD5770. Just imagine Radeon HD5770 X2, has a nice ring to it no?

NL: Review Block - Keeping Cool

Published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

Someone told me the other day that they felt aftermarket cooler options were not very good for the new processors.  While this perception may be correct when shopping at your local computer crappy store the reality is completely different online.

We have looked at quite a few coolers for the Core i7 that constitute some of the best aftermarket options you can find.  However that is not to say better coolers do not exist.

Here are some more cooler reviews from around the web

- OC3D: Corsair H70 Review
- Corsair Hydro Series H70 CPU cooler review @ Hexus
- Thermalright Venomous X CPU Cooler Review @ Real World Labs
- OC3D: Prolimatech Armageddon
- Zalman CNPS10X Performa CPU Cooler Review @ Real World Labs

Sadly no waterblocks this time around.

ASUS O!Play Air Media Player @ Techgage

Published: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

What is this ASUS Company you speak of?  Oh ya, they are like Sony but tend to stay in the realm of hardware over creating earth shattering, mind altering, and society building storage formats like BetaMax, Compact Disk, and BluRay. 

Techgage has posted a review of the new Asus O!Play Air Media Player which is quite similar to what you would get if you cross a Wii with the QNAP Media Player we reviewed.  Of course it won't play games and does not appear to have any internal storage but that is only a minor annoyance.

Have media on your PC, but want to watch it on anything but the PC? With ASUS' O!Play, getting that job done is simple. Take 30 seconds to hook it up to a TV, and you can stream media through a network, or via external storage, such as eSATA or USB. It's simple, and at $100, it's not too hard on your pocketbook, either.

For 100 bux I might buy one, however if I did what would I do with my Wii? 

EVGA SR-2 Experience Articles

Published: Thursday, August 05, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

Here we have one of the most powerful enthusiast ready motherboards in the world.  I have lusted over a dually motherboard like this ever since my first SMP experience over 10 years ago.  Why so long?  Well sadly when Intel branched the CPU lines to create Xeon processor it also limited what motherboard makers could do with them.  Now keep in mind it wasn't that they "couldn't" do anything, but rather it was not in their best interest to dedicate any development time to a niche product that consumers wouldn't understand or want to afford.  Not to mention the niche was too small to make a return on any sort of investment.



The one thing the EVGA SR-2, dually CPU, overclocking goodness brings to the table is proof that a company can do something with server/workstation hardware, and do it well.  It also forces hardware sites to actually invest in supercooling and overclocking gear just to review the board.

- eVGA SR2 - preparation update article Part 2 @ KitGuru
- The Ultimate Performance PC: EVGA & Intel Infused @ HotHardware

Reviews and experience articles related to the EVGA SR-2 keep trickling in so stay tuned.  Never know we might even be able to review the motherboard before year out.

Enzotech Stealth CPU Water Block @ PureOverclock

Published: Thursday, August 05, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

Now that watercooling has gone mainstream you don't see much in the way of new DIY Waterblock designs so when a new block hits the street it tends to get some attention.

This block is based on the new microfin design and comes with a guide plate to direct the water where it needs to be, not a bad configuration.

The Enzotech Stealth CPU water block has a design that is apparently inspired by the F-117 Nighthawk jet fighter built with stealth technology. They didn't just use the Stealth name to represent the quiet operation, but also the aesthetics as well. Fortunately, PureOC's radar detected the Stealth CPU water block in the hangar and we're lucky enough to have captured one for review. Today's mission is to take a tour of this new flagship CPU water block from Enzotech, so strap in flyboy, you're the wingman for the review.

Provided you can get past the jet references the review is pretty good.

Darn Those RootKits - Arrggg

Published: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Ninjalane

Well a computer was brought to me last night that was infected with a nasty trojan/rootkit and a variety of other things which makes you wonder..  Shouldn't your antivirus be able to detect and remove such infections??  I mean that is one of the main reasons for having the software to begin with, so what good does it do to block the bad stuff "after" the infection if it let the thing install in the first place.

So I would like to thank all of the virus writers out there, good job guys, you not only proved you are better than the dopey programmers at Microsoft, but you also fuxX0ring wasted my entire evening.

Exclusive Sneak Peek: DefCon Ninja Party Badge

Published: Saturday, July 31, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Web

Now here is a hacking group that knows how to get people's attention.  Their name isn't too bad either.

DefCon, the world’s largest hacker convention, is more than just a group of hackers getting together to exchange the latest exploit code and hacking techniques. It’s a time for hackers who may only see one another once a year, to socialize face to face. One of the most exclusive venues for fraternizing at DefCon is the Ninja party. To attend the party attendees have to know one of the Ninjas and they have to give them a badge.

I am very impressed with the board design. not only is it red, but has some art in there too.  Good Job guys!

X58 Motherboard Roundup July 2010 @ HardwareHeaven

Published: Friday, July 30, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

Roundups are a fun way to see related products side by side thru the eyes of a single reviewer.  The only downside to round-ups is that they never include "every" product you think they should be covering.

This X58 round up from HardwareHeaven features boards from  ASRock, ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI.  In fact there are 3 ASUS boards listed covering various segments in the market.

Today we look at a number of boards designed for those who must have the best products available, at any price. However we also like a little bit of balance in our lives so we have selected a few boards which focus on other aspects such as value. Join us as we take a look at what the latest developments on the X58 market are; in a selection of tests including video encoding, SATA3/USB3 performance and overclocking we will discover which boards offer the best for each consumer.

For those of you interested in the Gigabyte UD9 there are a few pictures in the review along with some performance numbers.  The only issue is the numbers are so close they all easily fall within the margin of error, thus giving us no clear "winner" (as if we need one)

Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 2G Exclusive Preview @ Guru3D

Published: Friday, July 30, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

Maybe one of the coolest sound cards in existence, the article is just a preview of the card so don't expect anything more than a few pretty pictures.

We have an exclusive sneak preview of the Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 2G soundcard. This card also marks a move back to the highly popular 8788 based chipset (at least for this model) that has been seen on some of the best sounding cards built to date. 

It is too bad they are still using the PCI interface; however the rest of the card is choice for the audio enthusiast.

Wikileaks confirmed: A plan to kill American geologist with poison beer

Published: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Web

This is just wrong on so many levels.  I know some of you are saying "that is why I don't drink beer" while others are saying "Silly Afgans, you can't learn about beer culture by watching "The Fast and Furious" with that Dom guy"

My opinion, I like beer, almost as much as Pepsi.  However if presented with the situation below I might have laughed and then promptly thrown the bottle out the window.  

The Corona bottle sat on his counter for the next two weeks Yeager says, because Corona is one of his least favorite beers. He finally opened it during a going away party as the other drinks began to run low.

"I pulled it out and when I popped it there was no fizz and the cap was loose," says Yeager. "Because this one didn't have fizz you wonder if it went rancid or not, and I just kind of sniffed it and I went 'Oh, that doesn't smell like beer.' "

Funny thing after reading this I remember a scene in an old James Bond film (Dr. No I believe) where James comes back to his hotel room only to find that someone had been there while he was out.  He seemed to have expected that so went over to fix himself a drink.  As he picked up his bottle of vodka he had a second though, stopped, took a sniff, then recapped the bottle and grabbed a fresh one from another drawer.

The lesson here, watch what you drink and if you do drink buy the booze yourself.  Also (on the flip side) if you are going to poison a drink, take some time and at least research your target and their culture.  At least then the story might reflect that you aren't a total and complete fuxX0ring idiot.

NL: Review Block - SSD Storage Systems

Published: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

PCI Express SSD drives are a convenient way to bypass the limitations of a SATA controller, however until now they have been cost prohibitive to most people with human sized pools of money.

Here are a couple reviews related to the new SSD "card" from OCZ
- OCZ RevoDrive 120GB PCI-Express SSD Review @ Legit Reviews
- OCZ Revo 120GB PCI Express SSD Performance Preview @ Techgage

For those looking for something more traditional there are several options including a C300 drive from Crucial.
- Corsair Force 120GB Solid State Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
- OCZ Vertex 2 Extended SSD Review @ TweakPC
- G.Skill Phoenix Pro 120 SSD Review @ TweakPC  (these are "de" so be sure to click the US flag in the corner)
- OCZ Agility 2 SandForce-based 60GB Solid State Drive @ Pro-Clockers
- Crucial C300 256GB SSD Review @ KitGuru

For something even stranger check out the Silverstone HDDBoost designed to speed up rotational drives with an SSD backer.
- SilverStone HDDBoost Review @ BURNED iN

On a side, and somewhat unrelated note, I have finally filled up my 1TB network storage array.  The array has been comprised of 3x 500GB Seagate drives in a RAID 5 and up until now has been my main storage platform.  I guess it might be time to replace those 500GB drives with their 1TB counterparts and expand the logical drive.

Try doing that with SSD!

Adata ventures into electric car battery business

Published: Monday, July 26, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

The popular memory company, Adata, has been branching off and trying new things.  At Computex this year we saw their new line of Power Supplies, I guess electric car batteries are just the next logical step.

China-based Golden Crown (GC) Energy, which specializes in making electric car batteries, has drawn investment from Adata Technology, according to the battery maker speaking on the sidelines of the opening of its new plant. The major Taiwan-based DRAM module house has taken up a 10% stake in GC Energy.

When times are tough companies tend to scramble to find something to diversify their income streams, this is why you see so many buyouts and mergers during a recession.  However when a company that specializes in memory products starts to do something totally unrelated to the field people (investors) tend to take notice.

Hailea HC-500A Water Chiller Review @ Bit-tech

Published: Saturday, July 24, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Web

Watercooling can come in many forms,  Small and compact units like the Corsair H-50 do a great job at keeping your processor cool however if you want to watercool your entire system a larger custom build is what you will need.  Regardless of what method you choose you can never get colder than ambient room temperature.

So how do you increase the cooling performance of an already efficient cooling system??  You remove the radiator and replace it with a chiller of course.  The Hailea was designed to cool tropical aquariums but seems to have been modified into a 790w water chiller.

Phase-change cooling is more usually found cooling a single component, typically a CPU, by pumping a sub-0°C liquid refrigerant over the CPU, with the heat of the CPU transferring to the liquid, phase-changing (boiling) it to its gaseous state. This gas is then pumped into a compressor which, with the help of a heat exchanger, phase-changes (condenses) it back to its liquid state to be pumped back to the cooling block to start the whole process again.

Be sure to check out the article for an exploded view of the Hailea, it is quite impressive and even features a temperature control unit that will start and stop the compressor when needed.

On a side note, I now know what I can do with that old Vapochill PE I have collecting dust in my garage.

NVIDIA Sheds Light On Lack Of PhysX CPU Optimizations @ HotHardware

Published: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

This is a pretty good read for those of you that have been following some of the PhysX drama that has hit the websphere.  The back story here is that someone discovered that PhysX didn't run well on a CPU and claimed that nVidia purposefully crippled it.  While reports like this rarely make headlines there is always a curiosity factor that needs to be taken into consideration.

About four months ago, we covered the latest round of shin-kicking between ATI and NVIDIA, with ATI claiming that NVIDIA purposefully crippled CPU performance when running PhysX code and coerced developers to make use of it. NVIDIA denied all such claims, particularly those that implied it used its "The Way It's Meant To Be Played" program as a bludgeon to force hardware PhysX on developers or gamers.

A new report has dug into how PhysX is executed on a standard x86 CPU; the analysis confirms some of AMD's earlier statements...

We have also taken a look at PhysX performance in the past, but from the standpoint of what hardware configuration will give you the best performance.  One of the testing points was to enable PhysX without an nVidia card in the system (ie run it on the CPU).  As you can imagine performance was horrible but justified considering the architecture of a GPU vs that of a CPU.  The GPU can just do certain things faster than if you ran them from a CPU directly. 

nVidia GTX 460 Madness!!

Published: Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - By: Dennis
News Source: Email

It would seem that everyone is getting the GTX 460 fever, at least when it comes to published reviews.  For those of you that don't know the nVidia GTX 460 is the new low(er) end Fermi GPU that appears be a perfect match between price and performance when it comes to DX11 enabled video cards.

- EVGA GTX 460 768MB Superclocked Single & SLI Review @ Hardware Canucks
- CHW review of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB & 768MB
- EVGA GeForce GTX 460 768MB SC SLI Video Card Review @ Legit Reviews
- MSI GeForce GTX 460 Cyclone OC 1024MB
- iXBT Labs Review: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 Graphics Card
- Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1GB Overclocked

The only thing lacking with the 460 is another set of SLI fingers for triple and quad card configurations.  Then again this is a mainstream card and not many mainstream folks have a need for more than 2 cards in any particular system.