PC Review: Polywell Poly X5800i Performance Gaming PC

Polywell's Poly X5800i

Polywell’s Poly X5800i is an exceptional performance desktop geared for gaming. But what makes it special?

Well, the biggest difference to every other gaming PC is that it has Server-grade hard drives that just kill regular hard drives when it comes to read and write speed. Running at double the typical (15,000 RPM), it is super fast, but on the downside they hold a lot less (146GB @ a duel configuration). But it is worth mentioning that they are SCSI hard drives and are set up in a Serial Attachment format.

Another not-so-often-seen feature is that the basic setup has got two ATI Radeon HD 4850 CrossFire graphics cards. Perfect for the hard core gamers if you ask me.

Beside those eye poppers, you get a Core 7i 920 Quad processer with matching DDR3 memory (3 GB, PC3-10600) to just floor your virtual acceleration.

Overall, a real screamer, just one flaw: price. As usual, you have to pay approximately an Arm n’ a Leg to get good Performance Desktop. Default setup will cost you $2540 and the sky’s the limit if you want top-of-the-line performance (think like near the $20,000 range).

Review: Dell XPS 730x Performance Gaming PC

Dell’s XPS 730x brings a “minor” change in the core system being used in their XPS 700 series PCs. The main difference between the old and new is that the new Intel X58 chipset and Core i7 processor are being used. With the change you can see notible increase in speed over the 730 (without the little “x”) model.

The XPS 730x uses the same large and hefty case that makes upgrading really easy. Direct buyers from Dell have a good selections of upgrades they can add to the system if they want more than the base system. There is a bad side to these upgrades: the XPS 730x has a higher than typical cost for a performance gaming PC. Another negative is that the graphics card is relatively weak when considering the cost.

Some key points on what it includes:

• Intel Core i7 920 Quad Core Desktop Processor
• 3GB PC3-8500 DDR3 Memory
• 500GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
• 16x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
• NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Audio Card
• Gigabit Ethernet x2
• 8x USB 2.0, 2x FireWire, eSATA
• Vista Home Premium 64-bit, McAfee Security Center

Source: About.com

Review: Giinii Digital Picture Frame

Most people now go digital when it goes to buying a photo camera, so why do people always print out their photos? People should just go out and buy a digital photo frame to save a ton of money on not printing out every photo. The Giinii Ultra-Thin 8 Inch Digital Picture Frame (let’s call it Giinii DPF) is one example of such devices.

The Giinii DPF is basically a screen with its own memory, an additional memory card slot, and a USB port to connect to your computer. You can either have your photo download via USB to the on-board memory or just switch them up in some flash memory cards. You’re not restricted to just one type of card either, the Giinii DPF can view SD, Sony Memory Stick, xD, Compact Flash, or Multimedia Card.

It reads JPEG, GIF, and TIF picture formats, it has a number of transition effects, it can show multiple photos in Collage mode. As for other multimedia formats, it does audio (MP3, WMA) and video (AVI, MOV). Everything can be seen in landscape or portrit orientation.

The screens resolution is 800 by 600, which is O.K. On the upside, it is thin at almost half and inch and can hang on the wall. The bad part is it’s not battery operated and must be plugged into a power outlet to work.

Besides media playback, there is a clock that you can set alarms up with. A remote control or button in the back are used to control/navigate.

Costs $130. This particular digital multimedia frame is alright, but there are better offerings on the market.

Review: Nintendo DSi

Currently only in Japan, but expect in US next year. It is awesome for those who already like the platform.

Now you can download games to play directly on the Nitendo DSi via wireless networking. It is easy to get connected, and you can also use a USB dongle also. While the downloaded games is a breeze, surfing the ‘net in large (using the Opera browser designed for the DSi) for general purpose is incredibly slow.

The design is slightly thinner and longer than the DS Lite; coloring is a matte white finish. The screen is now 3.25 inches compared to the old 3 inch DS Lite screen. To complement the larger screen, the stylus is slight longer. You get 256 MB of on-board memory plus an SD card expansion slot for storage. Another feature is two cameras (one on the inside, other on back) which both have meager 640X480 capture resolution.

While not good for most uses, the photos it takes look fine on the DSi screen. The are two additional apps on the DS: one to light manipulate the photos, another to play with AAC formatted music files.

Due to the small form factor and new physical features added, the Game Boy Advance slot is gone and the battery is smaller (= short battery time). Other gripes is that you can’t play games off the SD slot (what’s the point then???) and it’s region locked (no importing!).

- Wired

Cyber Monday

What are you waiting for? It’s Cyber Monday and you’ve better bought you faviorate gadgets and computer hardware and software today! If you have no clue what Cyber Monday is, well, here it is from Wikipedia:

The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday online shopping season in the United States between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. ^[1] Whereas Black Friday is associated with traditional brick-and-mortar stores, “Cyber Monday” symbolizes a busy day for online retailers. The premise was that consumers would return to their offices after the Black Friday weekend, making purchases online that they were not able to make in stores. Although that idea has not survived the test of time, Cyber Monday has evolved into a significant marketing event, sponsored by the National Retail Federation’s Shop.org division, in which online retailers offer low prices and promotions.

Right now there are hundreds, if not thousands of websites that are giving free shipping and/or discount on products in their store. If you want to get good Christmas presents cheap before Christmas, now is the time. If not, you’re going to have to wait till the after-Christmas sales start.

Review: Canon CanoScan LiDE 100

The Canon CanoScan LiDE 100 is an excellent low cost scanner, and while it can’t scan film (or at least not designed to), you can still get good quality scans of your photos even if you want to go cheap (it costs only $59).

It has 2400 ppi (points per inch) resolution, so you can expect excellent scan when it’s combine with Cannon great quality management heritage. The included software is aiming the scan at foots and scanning documents in text (ORC). The interface is very easy to get what you want. On the downside, while it packs good quality for what it does, what it does is limited by just offering the basics without all the extras people have come to expect.

Review: Western Digital My Book Studio Edition Hard Drive

Here are some specs on this Western Digital External HDD:

• Mfr. part #: WDH1Q10000N
• 1TB
• 7200rpm
• Serial ATA/300, IEEE 1394b, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394a
• External SATA, FireWire, USB, FireWire
• External, transportable HDD in casing

The Western Digital My Book “Studio Edition” external hard drive is the more versitial brother in the My Book series. Unlike the “Essentials Edition” and “Office Edition”, the “Studio Edition” packs more connectivity by providing not only USB 2.0, but also eSATA, Firewire 1394a and 1394b. As with the others available, it comes inclosed with a 1TB (1,000 GB) capacity and run at the normal 7200rpm speed.

With all that space its store, it is nice to have a nice auto backup fuction for quick and simple securing of you important files. As another alternative, the included software (which automaticly installs) can keep particluar folders and files Sync-ed all the time while it connect. That means each time you save on your computer an update to a file you were working on, it automatically resaves it on the WD My Book.

Another feature is a gauge on it that can measure how much of the capacity you have used and how much is left. It also puts itself into sleep-mode if inactive for more than 10 minutes so you can save energy and extend the drives life. We the computer wants to access it, it wakes itself up and you don’t have to adjust anything. Similarily, when you shutdown your computer, it knows that and turns itself off.

The biggest negative for the Studio Edition (and the Studio Edition II – same, but double size and RAID 0 or 1) is that the software extras are made for Mac only, not Windows or Linux. That doesn’t mean you can’t use the hard drive on a non-Mac. But the Sync software is aimed for Mac users.

Review: Garmin nüvi 350 Automobile Navigator

The Garmin nüvi 350 is a small GPS (Navigation) receiver box that can tell you every turn you must make by voice. This slim GPS system has many others features that make it a must-have when traveling. Its great, well thought out features and excellenct performance makes this GPS stand out in comparison to other competitors.

The nüvi 350 is also compatible with Garmin’s GTM10 traffic receiver accessory. That makes it possible for US purchasers to incorporate current traffics conditions to travel plans if travelling in select cities. Another feature is that it uses the SiRFstar III GPS module. This new chip makes it extremely sensitive to your position, with a fast “Time-To-First-Fix” (TTFF). That means when you start it up, you can expect it take only a few seconds to its location after the first start-up. The reception using the SiRFstar III chip is also very good when compared to other chip-sets used in GPS receivers. It can still be locked with the GPS satellites even when walking under metal structures.

Finally, the product itself only has a power button. The rest of the needed fuctions are done by touchscreen which makes it extremely easy for anyone to use and follow. In its software, it has a “Travel Kit” which includes, an optional Language translator, Travel Guides to popular destinations in Europe and North America, an MP3 player (use internal 1GB memory or insert a SD card), a Photo Viewer, a 4 zone multi-clock, a currency converter (for between different nations monies), and various measurement converters.

Overall, the Garmin nüvi 350 Automobile Navigator is an excellent navigation piece of equipment worth an investment. If not the best, one of the best there is currently on the market.

Source: PC Mag

Review: HP Business Notebook 2510p

The HP Compaq 2510p notebook has a 12.1″ screen, with an ultra-portable (read: small) design aimed at business men and women that must frequently travel. The Compaq 2510p is an upgrade from the previous nc2400 of similar design made by HP. It’s better than the nc2400 because it now offers a touchpad, Intel’s Santa Rosa platform, a LED backlit screen and a updated casing design.

On the negative side, you might start to complain about the short battery life, especially if your one of its target consumers and you can be leashed to a power outlet. This seems to be most peoples’ complaints.

On the upside for its target audience is that because it is aimed a professionals, you can expect to see a number of security enhancements coming from this notebook. The HP Compaq as in good thought, didn’t leave out a lot of futures that normally get dropped in the ultra-portable sector: a DVD±RW drive, 2GB of RAM, a 100GB hard disk, and Intel’s Mobile GMA X3100 integrated graphics. These things allow it to go beyond just the most basic productivity software.

For its size and aim, it packs a decent punch for what it is aiming at. Rest assured, the HP Compaq Business Notebook 2510p is not gaming gear or for audio/video production/editing. But for the average software you can expect to see used during office hours, it does the job.

Source: NotebookReview.com

Review: Logitech X-240 iPod Speaker System

Logitech X-240 iPod Speaker System

The Logitech X-240 iPod Speaker System seemed like good speakers for their price. It was a little annoying they had to be manually switched on each time, and if not, no sound comes out at all. Some people prefer to have a least a little sound coming through un-amplified. The Logitech X-240 maintain a low hum when idle compared to other speakers. The bass coming from the subwoofer is better than what you would expect.

The little touches help also. Extra long speaker cords help to put the speakers in most places you want. Despite the name, the Logitech X-240 isn’t restricted to just iPods. It also is useful for all mp3 players (including Zune) and also for computer use.

Overall, sound was good, functionality decent, and looks are good. Pleased with the speakers and they get a 4.5 out of 5.

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