Guru3d have done a fullout, huge review of two GeForce 7800 GTX cards. Taking the two cards and comparing them in different games and then taking the two of them, hooking them up in SLI mode and putting them against those same games again.

The GeForce 7800 GTX by itself is currently the most powerful video card you can get. It beats out all competition from ATI and takes the crown for performance. But taking two of them together does more than just produce great graphics, it allows you to punish the cards as much as you want and push them as far as they can go, and they won’t even flinch.

Two GeForce 7800 GTX cards together literally take on anything. They handle over 70fps in ANY game out there, at 1600×1200 and with all the extras features turned on. You get the most realistic images with the best shading, without sacrificing anything in gameplay by losing frames.

Also compared is how the processor still plays a fairly big part in how things come together. They are tested both with an Athlon 4000+ and an FX-57, and the performance does come out differently. There is a noticeable difference with the FX-57, but not enough to get truly excited about, its just the icing on a perfect combo.

The only downside to the whole affair is that the cards cost in the region of $650 which is pretty steep and make it almost unatainable for mere mortals if you are even considering an SLI setup.

This truly excellent article is really worth a read, even just for the impressiveness of it.

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The Sunbeamtech Solar illuminated keyboard was reviewed over at gideontech recently. The keyboard is designed with gamers in mind, mostly the people who go for LED lights and backlit keyboards, for LAN parties.
The keyboard itself is nothing to write home about with a standard set of keys with a few extra multimedia keys. Big bright blue LEDs replace the usual green ones for the different “lock” keys. The whole thing is backlit with a blue color. The keys do not show through any of the light, the keyboard itself is a gloss black and the keys are a greyish color.

The keyboard does what it is intended to do, but the setup is one of guesswork and fiddling around a little. The installation disk has no markings and there are no instructions included with it. If you just plugged it in you would loose the multimedia functions, if you don’t mind that, otherwise, fish around on the floppy disk and install the drivers for your operating system and you get access to the multimedia keys. These, as noted by the reviewer are not all available, there are some noted in the software that don’t appear on the board. Weird.

A functional board which does its job and looks quite good.

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Evga video cards have a reputation for being quality products. Although there is often not much to set video cards apart as they are nearly the same thing, Evga excels in customer support and warranties.

At Gamepyre the Evga 6800GS C/P superclocked edition was tested in SLI mode with two cards. It provided enough oomph to power all of the games the tester went through during the test. The combination of the two in SLI mode boosts the gameplay to decent levels.

The 2 cards in an SLI configuration came in somewhere between the 7800 and 2×7800 setups. So if you are still not willing to throw away your older 6800 then getting another for an SLI setup might be an alternative to getting a 7800 right away.

Check out Gemepyre for the full review.

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The Hiper Type-R 580W Modular Power Supply has some fairly unique features making it good for use in both normal situations and under heavier loads.

It features a case that is made with metal mesh. The mesh itself allows a lot of airflow through the small holes in it. This allows the cooling to be a little less extreme and notably the speed of the fan.

It has a 120mm fan at the bottom and 80mm fan at the back. The two together providing more than enough for the cooling needs of this power supply.

In the review at extremeoverclocking they verified that all the voltages were within tolerances, meaning that their shouldn’t be any surprises for any of your precious computer components.

The other great feature of this power supply is the fact that it has modular cabling. This is not unique to this power supply, but they have taken a more sturdy approach than the Ultra power supplies that are well-known for this feature. They are connected with a key at the PSU end and with gold plated fittings at the other end. All of the cables are sleeved, leaing things clean and uncluttered in the case.
The case is fairly unique, but doesn’t make any strides or surprises with the quality of power coming from the power supply itself.

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2GB of memory is being touted as the way to go for computers nowadays, especially gaming computers. Seeing as more memory nearly always makes a difference to how well your computer performs, a little extra is always good. But not always necessary.

For those looking to add that extra something funky to their system, this pair of dual memory sticks from Corsair should do the trick. They are rated for fairly high speeds and come with cool (tacky) LED displays on the top to show how far the memory itself is being pushed.

In their review at extremeoverclocking the memory itself was rated to 218MHz at the standard voltages and timings. This allows a little room for overclocking without the need for any upping of voltages and such things.

With relaxed timings up to 260MHz was achieved, but only that much, with nothing faster attainable with any amount of tweaking.

At around 300 dollars this memory pair does well in terms of performance and is a good addition to a decent system. Not too much can be squeezed out of them, but if your requirements are a little more modest they are quite a good deal for 2GB of memory.

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The Cooler Master Stacker CM 830 breaks a little witht he tradition of quite standard cases and offers one with as many options as you can think of, styling that is impeccable and cooling suitable for the most hot-headed of overclockers.

With support with up to 9 120mm fans there is amost no way that it will not provide the necessary airflow to whatever setup you have. Part of the styling is balck mesh sides and top, which allow lots of fresh air to come from the outside. There are panels in the side of the case where extra fans can be installed and one exhaust fan at the top of the case to expel hot air.

The case is designed with Cooler Master’s liquid cooling system in mind and is designed to easily take their system, which could be an option for anyone that gets this case, as long as they have some money left after that.

Is is worthy of noting that all of the fan spots can take fans of up to 140mm in size. This is great for getting the throughflow you need without the buzz of many smaller fans.

The hard drives can be isntalled without the use of tools and are installed in small kind of container that has a 120mm fan at the front. I takes only the space of 3 traditional hard drive spots but they are kept cool by the fan. The drives themselves can be installed without tools using the little goodies given with the case. Alternatively, you can still use screws after removing the toolless stuff.

At nearly 300 bucks, this case is expensive. It is certainly worth it as you get a fine case which will last forever. There are enough extras for anyone and others will drool over its great lines and styling. Check out the full review at extremeoverclocking.

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For those who type for hours on end or whose jobs are in front of a computer you may know what happens after hours of strain using a normal keyboard. Serious long term damage can be caused by this.

The Microsoft Natural keyboard, takes the keyboard down the middle (as according to a touch typist) and rotates the keys into a position that is more natural for your fingers to get to, resulting in more comfortable typing.

The keyboard itself will not do for those who peck at the keyboard as the distance between the two sides would make the searching process that much more difficult. A rest for your wrist is included and is actually part of the keyboard. It has a soft comfortable feel to it according to the review at everythingusb.com

The curves of the keyboard have been thought out to make it look more modern and sleek. Gone is the gray look from the past and now a better black with silver function keys and trimming is the standard.

One other interesting thing is that the keyboard can be tilted backward, the back of the keyboard can be raised, as with most keyboards, but the front can be raised too. There is also a slope from the middle down to the edge, almost as thought someone took a keyboard and slammed it on their knee.

A great keyboard for those stuck to one.

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The Logitech keyboard expands Logitech’s range to a new market segment of products aimed exclusively at gamers. The keyboard itself is really big and will take up a fair amount of space on your table. This should not put you off however as the design makes up for its large size.

The keyboard itself features full-sized keys which make it suitable for those who would use it for everyday things like typing or sending email. Being versatile enough to do both tasks makes it convenient to use.

The keys, in gamer style are backlit, so the actual face of the keys are black and the numbers and letters light up like little dim LEDs. Keys can be pried off the keyboard which makes cleaning it very easy.

One cool feature are the G-keys, an extra set of 18 keys at the left of the baord that can be programmed to do a whole bunch of different stuff. Each key has 3 modes, giving 54 possible choices. The keys are programmed through software that comes with the keyboard. Easy enough to use, and useful once you get used to it, if you’ve never used such things before.
The keyboard is given a very positive review at everythingusb, go check it our for more info.

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The Logitech G7 laser cordless mouse is designed with gamers in mind. With the precision you need for some games lasers have made a big difference in how accuratly things can be done. It is designed with more than just the standard features and is intended for those who would use their mice for very precise work and who use them for many hours on end.

Laser mice took a bit of slack originally for being too precise in their movements often making small movements very hard because of how quickly they would react to the movement of the users hand. Logitech have added buttons to change the sensitivity of the mouse, allowing you to adjust it to your needs as you go.

The scroll button is designed to scroll both horizontally and vertically which is an added plus.

It runs on rechargable batteries that come standard with the mouse. The battery pack lasts for about 2 days at the max, but can then be swapped out for another one which comes standard with the set. It recharges in a cellphone style stand.

In the review at dreamwarecomputers it comes out well being suitable for the everyday use that it is put through.

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Utterly fantastic, there are not too many people who will go to this degree of detail to create their perfect case. Most cases are just slight reworks on bought cases, but why stop there. CaseModGod has made a case based on hellraiser, the end result, which at time of writing has not come yet is a case which is inspired by hellraiser with a puzzle box worked into it.

Massive browny points for creativity and total coolness. Look here if you want to creat a case that is truly unique.

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