VisionTek cuts price of its Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card

Introduced two months ago with a price tag of $129.99, the Bigfoot-powered VisionTek Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card has received a price cut which makes it break the apparently magical $100 mark. Now at $99, the card is hoped to become more enticing for the online gaming crowd.

The Killer 2100 has a PCI-Express x1 interface and features a 400 MHz-clocked network processor (NPU), 128MB of DDR2 memory, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, the Game Networking DNA which accelerates latency-sensitive game traffic, the Advanced Game Detect function that prioritizes game traffic, Windows stack bypass, and the Visual Bandwidth Control, enabling users to manage their Internet connection with (relative) ease.

VisionTek's network card is selling in North America through Newegg, Buy.com, CompUSA, Dell.com, TigerDirect, NCIX, Amazon and other outlets.

Intel's Q1 Sandy Bridge processor line-up exposed

There's no doubt about it, by the end of the year Intel will start manufacturing 32nm processors based on the Sandy Bridge architecture and, just as 2011 roll in, will unleash them upon the desktop and portable PC markets to keep the money pouring in and AMD well behind on second place.

Unsurprisingly, although it has confirmed the release schedule of the first Sandy Bridge chips, Intel isn't saying anything (officially) about the specs of the upcoming models but thankfully, a leak is providing a good picture of what's coming.

The Sandy Bridge desktop and mobile offering for Q1 is detailed in the table below and it contains no less than 19 CPUs - 12 quad-cores and 7 dual-cores, going from 2.3 GHz to 3.4 GHz. The chips listed come in LGA 1155 packaging and feature an integrated (dual channel) DDR3 memory controller as well as a graphics core.

The mobile models all include Hyper-Threading technology but this will apparently be absent on certain desktop chips (the Core i5-2500s and i5-2400). To keep things complicated Intel will have several flavors of the same model available, these being set apart with an end letter (or lack of a letter). For example K means an unlocked multiplier, S - lower frequencies and a lower TDP, while T - even lower clocks and TDP ratings. Pricing info hasn't been revealed as it's probably still in the works.

PhotoFast unveils CF card, 1.8-inch HDD/SSD external USB 3.0 enclosure

PhotoFast has today presented to the world a new G-Monster-branded product, the G-Monster X Drive enclosure which features a USB 3.0 interface and can house either a CompactFlash (Type I) memory card or a 1.8-inch hard/solid state drive with ZIF, microSATA or 50-pin IDE connectivity.

Set to become available in September (in black and white), the enclosure measures 105.25 x 60.95 x 10 mm and weights 95 grams.

Acer launches G5-series monitors in Europe

Acer's monitor offer for the Old Continent is being expanded this month through the release of the G5-series line which includes the 19-inch G195HQ, 20-inch G205H, 22-inch G225HQ, 23-inch G235H and 24-inch G245H models - all targeting gamers and multimedia enthusiasts.

The G5 LCDs come with an X-shaped stand providing tilt adjustment, have a piano black finish, a contrast ratio of up to 80,000:1 a 5ms response time (2ms for the G245H), DVI connectivity (plus HDMI 1.3 on certain models), and a native resolution going from 1366 x 768 for the G195HQ, through 1600 x 900 for the G205H, to 1920 x 1080 for the rest.

The G195HQ, G205H, G225HQ, G235H and G245H have recommended price tags of €119, €139, €169, €199 and €219, respectively.

New PhysX software released, comes with fixes for Mafia 2

With the PhysX-enhanced Mafia 2 demo out on Steam, Nvidia has made available a new PhysX software package (version 9.10.0513) that, among other things, fixes some issues with 2K Czech's highly-anticipated action game.

The fresh PhysX release has support for GeForce 8, 9, 100, 200, 300 and 400 series cards and features the following highlights:

- Includes the latest PhysX runtime builds to support all released PhysX content.

- Fixes a bug that prevented PhysX from being accelerated on Optimus PCs.

- Supports Nvidia PhysX acceleration on GeForce via CUDA 3.0 for SDK versions 2.7.1, 2.7.3, 2.7.4, 2.7.5, 2.7.6, 2.8.0, 2.8.1 and 2.8.3 (requires graphics driver v196.21 or later).

- Supports control of your GPU PhysX configuration from the Nvidia display driver control panel. (Requires graphics driver v196.21 or later).

- Bug fixes for Mafia 2

To download the PhysX system software 9.10.0513 check out Nvidia's website .

Acer readies the S222HQL super-slim LED-backlit monitor

Number two PC maker Acer is planning on bringing to IFA Berlin 2010 (September 3-8) and retail stores a sexy and slim new LCD monitor, the S222HQL. This upcoming model features a 21.5-inch panel, is LED backlit and has smooth black bezel that's just 12.9mm thick.

The display boasts native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a dynamic contrast ratio of 12,000,000:1, a 2ms response time, a brightness of 250 cd/m2, and both DVI and HDMI connectors. No word on pricing yet.

I-O Data preps new 27-inch Full HD monitor

Japan's own I-O Data will very soon be updating its product offer through the introduction of the LCD-MF271XBR, a 27-inch widescreen LCD monitor claimed to be perfect for gaming, watching movies, and pretty much everything else.

The upcoming display has a stand enabling height, tilt and swivel adjustments and features a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, a 2ms response time, a 1000:1 contrast ratio (30,000:1 DCR), a maximum brightness of 330 cd/m2, two 1.5W speakers, a 3.5mm audio jack, plus D-Sub, DVI and HDMI connectivity.

The LCD-MF271XBR is set to reach Japanese stores later this month.

EVGA Precision 1.9.6 available for download

EVGA has once again updated its Precision graphics card monitoring and tweaking tool, bringing the software which can be used with GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, 200 and 400 series models to version 1.9.6.

The new Precision release is available here and it comes with the following changes/additions:

- Fixed COM security initialization issue causing task scheduler helper library to fail with error code -2 under certain conditions

- option is no longer set in the startup task settings to allow automatically starting application via the task scheduler on laptops or on some UPS models

- Added On-Screen Display profile for Startcraft II : Wings of Liberty

Plastic Logic axes QUE e-book reader, working on new ProReader device

Mountain View-based Plastic Logic has officially given up on its CES 2010-revealed QUE ProReader but has announced it's not out of the e-reader game. The company may have lost its flagship but is moving forward and looking towards a second-generation ProReader plastic electronics-based product.

"We recognize the market has dramatically changed, and with the product delays we have experienced, it no longer make sense for us to move forward with our first generation electronic reading product," said Plastic Logic CEO Richard Archuleta. "This was a hard decision, but is the best one for our company, our investors and our customers."

Unfortunately for those excited about Plastic Logic's technology, it hasn't provided any details about the new ProReader device. Hopefully they won't wait until CES 2011 to announce something.

IBM acquires data and document capture software maker

Still out shopping, IBM has added another company to its ever-growing business, one Datacap of Tarrytown which is known for developing and selling software for data and document capturing with over 200 clients in various industries.

This latest purchase is set to enhance IBM's ability to provide solutions that help companies digitize, manage and automate their information assets. Plus, it will further expand IBM's customer base and unlock more revenue streams.

"Transforming the way organizations do business requires not only a powerful and flexible technology platform to accommodate the wide range of business requirements, challenges and goals, but also a deep understanding of the processes of the industries in which our clients operate," said Ron Ercanbrack, VP of Enterprise Content Management for IBM. "We've chosen to make Datacap's approach the foundation of IBM's document capture strategy. Datacap's approach to image capture, using sophisticated business rules management, sets it above the rest in the industry and provides the most complementary capabilities for IBM."

Datacap is planned to be integrated into IBM's ECM business, which is part of the IBM Software Solutions Group.

EVGA introduces the Classified SR-2 power supply

Enthusiasts in need of moar (read more) powa' for systems based on the Classified SR-2 dual-socket motherboard can now purchase the Antec-made but EVGA-branded Classified SR-2 power supply which is capable of supplying 1200W on a daily basis.

Featuring a modular design, the 'new' PSU is 80Plus Silver certified (has an efficiency of 85% and over), is Quad SLI and Quad CrossFireX-ready, features active PFC (Power Factor Correction), six 12V rails (rated at 38A), gold-plated connectors, an 80mm PWM fan, and two knobs for tweaking the 12V voltage and adjusting fan speed.

The Classified SR-2 power supply is backed by a five-year warranty and costs $359.99 .

Samsung 7-inch tablet reported to launch next month at IFA Berlin

The teasing game surrounding Samsung's 7-inch tablet (known as the Galaxy Tab) is expected to end next month as the South Korean manufacturer is said to finally be revealing the mobile device at IFA Berlin 2010 (September 3-8).

Pictured below, the Galaxy Tab features a 7-inch touchscreen, runs Android (2.2) with the TouchWiz user interface, and is supposed to pack a 1.2 GHz Cortex-A8 processor, 16GB of storage, dual cameras, GPS, plus WiFi and 3G. Pricing info is still up in the air.

Zalman coming up with the ZM-SF3 case fan boasting shark fin blades

Taking a lesson in fluid dynamics from mother nature, Zalman has designed a new case fan that has shark fin-inspired blades providing a higher airflow while reducing turbulence and thus both noise and vibration.

Dubbed ZM-SF3, Zalman's 120mm fan has an ELQ (Ever Lasting Quiet) bearing with a life 'expectancy' of 150,000 hours, silicon pads to help keep vibrations to a minimum, it works at 900 to 1500 RPM (rotations per minute), and has a sound output of 18 - 23 dBA. The spinner is bundled with silicone pins and does not yet have a price tag or retail date.

Adobe fixes more Flash Player bugs

Adobe Systems has yesterday made available an updated version of Flash Player (10.1.82.76) which fixes multiple critical-rated vulnerabilities that could cause the application to crash and allow an attacker to take control of an affected system.

This latest patch resolves a total of six issues, five of which have to do with memory corruption. An update to Flash Player 10.1.82.76 is highly recommended so see this page for the full download (Windows).

Patriot's 60GB, 120GB & 240GB Inferno SSDs launched in Europe

Two weeks after their official announcement, Patriot's three new Inferno series solid state drives have also been introduced in Europe. These fresh 2.5-inch SSDs make use of SandForce's SF-1222 controller and MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory.

The three drives also have TRIM support, a SATA 3.0 Gbps interface, a MTBF (mean time before failure) of over 1.5 million hours, maximum sequential read/write speeds 285/275 MB/s, and are bundled with a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch adapter.

The 60GB, 120GB and 240GB Inferno SSDs have EU recommended price tags of €165, €289 and €589, respectively.

Raptor Gaming H3 headset up for pre-order, coming this month

Initially set for a July release, the H3 headset from peripheral maker Raptor Gaming is still not shipping but is available for pre-order, the promise being that deliveries will start at the end of this month.

The new headset weights 260 grams without its 2m cable (with built-in controls), features an 'Enemy location mode' that will tune the sound output of each speaker so as to provide a sense of where the enemy is coming/shooting from, and has 39mm drivers, a frequency response of 50Hz - 20 KHz, a sensitivity of 121 dB ± 3dB, and a noise canceling microphone.

The H3 costs €49.90.

First HP webOS tablet said to be planned for Q1 2011

According to a recent report, Todd Bradley, the Executive Vice President of HP's Personal Systems Group, has revealed to HP employees that the company is working on bringing its first webOS-based tablet (codename Hurricane) to market in the first quarter of 2011.

Before trying its luck with weOS, HP is going to play it a little safer and release tablets powered by Windows 7 (Slate 500) and Android 2.1 (?) (eStation Zeen), the former being targeted towards business users, while the latter will go after regular consumers. Both are expected to debut later this year so we're looking like some very busy couple of quarters for HP in terms of tablet moves. And we're liking the situation.

Spire reveals the Slimod 282 dual-fan VGA cooler

Spire Corp. has now exposed its latest cooling creation, the Slimod 282 VGA cooler that can be used on multiple graphics cards, including the Radeon HD 2400, HD 2600, HD 3600, HD 3800, HD 4600, HD 4800 series or GeForce 4 Ti, GeForce FX 5700/5800/5900, 6600, 7800, 7900, 8600, 8800, 9800, GTX 200s.

The new cooler packs four 6mm Direct Touch copper heapipes, the usual aluminum fin array, and two 90mm sleeve bearing fans that work at 1800 RPM and have a sound output of 24 dBA.

The Slimod 282 is bundled with S420 thermal paste and is set to become available this month @ $49.99 / €36.95.

Dell Streak launching in the US this week, costs $300 with an AT&T contract

After a little delay Dell's Streak 5-inch tablet is now ready to debut in the US where it will be available for as low as $300, with new two-year AT&T contract, or at $550 without a plan. Pre-sale registrants will be able to place Streak orders tomorrow, while the rest will have to wait for Friday.

The Dell Streak boasts a 5-inch touchscreen, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset, a 5 megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 2GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, UMTS, GPRS and EDGE support, plus Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.

More info about Dell's device can be found here .

Techconnect Review Round-up 10/8/10

Today's review round-up...

CPU & Motherboard

- ASRock 880G Extreme3 & 890FX Deluxe3 @ Phoronix

- ASUS P7P55D-E PRO @ TechReaction

- ASUS P6X58D-E Motherboard @ Overclockers Club

Memory

- Best DDR3 SDRAM for AMD Phenom II X6 @ X-bit labs

- Patriot Viper II Sector 5 2400MHz 4GB Kit (PVV34G2400C9K) @ Bjorn3d

Storage

- Synology DiskStation DS210+ Network Storage Server @ CCE Reviews

- Super Talent SuperCrypt 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive @ TweakTown

- ADATA Superior Series C905 USB Flash Drive @ Madshrimps

- Crucial C300 256GB SSD @ PureOC

- G.Skill Phoenix Pro 128GB @ bit-tech

Graphics cards

- Sparkle GTX465 Graphics Card @ OverclockersHQ

- MSI GeForce GTX 460 768MB Cyclone in SLI Overclocked @ TweakTown

- GeForce GTX 460 1GB SLI vs. Radeon HD 5870 CFX @ [H]ard OCP

Enclosures & PSUs

- Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000W PSU @ APH Networks

- Kingwin ATK-35U3-BK USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure @ Tweaknews

- NZXT Vulcan Micro ATX Case @ BCCHardware

Displays

- Samsung LN55C650 120Hz LCD HDTV @ Hardware Canucks

- Sony Bravia KDL-40NX803 @ TrustedReviews

- Toshiba 40RV753B @ TechRadar

Cooling and modding

- Corsair A50 CPU cooler @ Neoseeker

- Corsair Hydro Series H70 CPU cooler @ Hexus

- SilverStone SST-AP181 Air Penetrator Fan @ Benchmark Reviews

- Antec Notebook Coolers Triple Treat - Basic, Mini, and Designer @ PC Perspective

- Enermax T.B.SILENCE 14cm Fan @ Rbmods

- Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler @ Hardware Secrets

- Prolimatech Armageddon CPU cooler @ OC3D

Peripherals

- Arctic M551 Gaming Mouse @ BCCHardware

PCs & tablets

- HP All-in-One 200-5020 Desktop Computer @ TweakTown

Other

- Siig Wireless-N PCI Adapter @ Bona Fide Reviews

- Dell 5330dn laser printer @ TrustedReviews

- Epson Stylus Photo R2880 @ TechRadar

Razer readies the oh-so-green Orca headphones

Apparently making a tribute to Green Lantern Razer has now launched the Orca headphones which feature a retina-hypnotizing green paintjob and is claimed to deliver the performance required by both hardcore gamers and music lovers.

Seen below, the new phones have a 3.5mm jack at the end of a 1.2 meter long braided cable, an ergonomic design to provide comfort for hours on end, two 40mm drivers with neodymium magnets, an impedance of 32 Ohms at 1kHz and a frequency response of 15 to 21,000 Hz.

"The Razer Orca marks Razer’s foray into the lifestyle audio world," said Robert 'Razerguy' Krakoff, president, Razer USA. "We specifically designed the Razer Orca for the consumer who demands unmatched comfort and the utmost style, who also happens to game. We wanted a pair of headphones that could transition from your gaming den to the subway by adding a cool look to great gaming sound."

Orca is set to become available this month priced at $59.99 / €59.99.

Motorola Droid 2 finally debuts, to ship on August 12

Motorola and Verizon Wireless have today officially introduced the Droid 2 smartphone and said it go on pre-sale tomorrow (and ship on August 12) priced at $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year contract.

Pictured below, Droid 2 runs Android 2.2 (spiced up with the Blur UI) and has a slide-out keyboard, a 3.7-inch (854 x 480) multi-touch display, a 5 megapixel camera, 8GB of built-in memory (backed by an 8GB microSDHC card), Flash Player 10.1, 3G mobile hotSpot capabilities, and DLNA connectivity.

"With the new Droid 2, we've taken a big leap forward from the original Droid," said Bill Ogle, chief marketing officer of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home Business. "We listened to consumers and are providing an even more robust experience built on Android 2.2 that includes a new keyboard, increased processing power, Adobe Flash Player 10.1 and 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities to send, access and share information even quicker than before."

A limited-edition R2-D2 version of the Droid 2 has also been confirmed and it will be available only online in September.

Zotac intros USB 3.0-equipped H55-ITX WiFi motherboard

Confirming our report last week, Zotac has today announced a new mini-ITX motherboard which is based on the Intel H55 motherboard, the H55-ITX WiFi (H55ITX-C-E). This model is based on the H55ITX-A-E board and adds USB 3.0 support via a Renesas Electronics controller.

In all, the compact board features support for LGA 1156 processors, two DDR3-1333 memory slots, six SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, one PCI-Express x16 slot, built-in 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, eSATA, 7.1 channel audio, two USB 3.0 connectors, plus DVI and HDMI outputs.

"We see a trend where gamers are moving towards small form factor systems but want high-end CPUs and graphics cards. With the updated Zotac H55-ITX WiFi (H55ITX-C-E, gamers can build a complete small form factor system with a high-end Intel Core i7 800 series processor and a Zotac GeForce GTX 400-series graphics card," said Carsten Berger, marketing director, Zotac International.

Zotac's H55ITX-C-E is already shipping in China were it costs about $118.

Xigmatek unveils the Aegir SD128264 CPU cooler

Xigmatek has today officially introduced its newest high-performance CPU cooler, a model which goes by the name of Aegir SD128264 that features a D.L.H.D.T. (Double Layer with Heat-pipe Direct Touch) structure and supports LGA 775/1156/1366 and AM2/AM2+/AM3 processors.

Xigmatek's creation measures 130 (W) x 66.4 (D) x 159 (H) mm, has two 8mm and four 6mm copper heatpipes, and is bundled with one 120mm (20 dBA) long life bearing operating at 1000 to 2200 RPM (rotations per minute), equipped with four white LEDs.

The Aegir SD128264 can be paired up with up to two fans which are mounted with anti-vibration 'rubbers'. Pricing info wasn't provided by we're keeping an eye out for it.

Google offices raided by South Korean police in data collecting probe

As part of an investigation into Google's admitted snooping and gathering of WiFi data, South Korean police has today raided the company's Seoul offices, looking for evidence that information was collected and stored for later potential use.

Google has previously stated that its Street View cars, which are supposed to just take photos and not much else, have indeed gathered data from unencrypted WiFi networks, but mentioned this was dome by mistake. Even so, this illegal snooping has sparked several probes around the world, the one in South Korea being one of the latest.

The Korean raid was done by 19 agents and saw multiple hard drives and documents being confiscated in order to be analyzed. Google execs are expected to be questioned too, as the investigation moves forward.

ECS Black series P55H-AK high-end motherboard closing in

First seen at Computex 2010 in June, ECS' high and mighty P55H-AK motherboard has also been added to the manufacturer's website although there's still no info regarding its release. Part of the Black series, the new board is based on Intel's P55 chipset and targets gamers.

The P55H-AK comes with a dark color theme and features support for LGA 1156 processors and DDR3-2600+ memory, has 15μ gold contacts on the CPU socket and RAM slots, packs an Nvidia NF200 bridge chip and provides three PCI-Express x16 slots enabling 3-way SLI or Quad CrossFireX setups.

The board also includes a PLX PEX 8608 PCIe bridge, two SATA 6.0 Gbps and six SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, two USB 3.0 and two eSATA connectors, dual Gigabit Ethernet, 7.1 channel audio, a debug LED, and Power, Reset and Clear CMOS buttons. All in all, this is an interesting offering from ECS, it just needs to reach stores already.