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Reviews Around The Web
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Monday, December 17, 2007
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We hope you all had good weekends. We're writing to let you all know that we've just posted a new article at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features, overclockability, and performance of two of Asus' premiere motherboards for the Intel platform, the X48-based P5E3 Premium and the X38-based Maximus Extreme. These two motherboards are family members of two different series of products by Asus - R.O.G. and Ai Lifestyle - and as such they each offer a different mix of features and integrated peripherals. They're both high-end motherboards targeted at enthusiasts and power users, however. Head on over to the site and check them out...
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Last month AMD introduced the ATI Radeon HD 3800 series as "enthusiast gaming performance for the masses" through the Radeon HD 3850 and Radeon HD 3870, which are both sub-$250 graphics cards. While rudimentary, the Catalyst 7.11 Linux driver (also released last month), supports these two RV670 GPUs with better support coming through the Catalyst 7.12 Linux driver this month. To see how well these two PCI Express 2.0 graphics cards are able to perform under Linux, ASUS had sent out their EAH3850 TOP and EAH3870 TOP. We have tested both of these graphics cards using Ubuntu 7.10 and have compared the results to other products using the fglrx driver, including the ATI Radeon HD 2900XT 512MB. These are the world's first Linux benchmarks of these new mainstream ATI graphics processors.
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The latest addition to the TOP line-up is the 8800GT and it's an interesting one because the 8800GT packs some serious punch as it is; it will be interesting to see how the card fairs against the stock model ASUS 8800GTS. What we have stuck the 8800GT TOP from ASUS against today is a stock clocked 8800GT, an overclocked 8800GT which comes with the more common 650MHz/1900MHz DDR setup and the stock clocked 8800GTS 512MB based on the G92 core.
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Some users might want Wi-Fi connection out-of-box, while others would prefer having dual Ethernet feature, ability to overclock CPU to its limits or just run the whole thing silently. With their newest board, P5E3 Deluxe WiFi-AP @n, Asus has integrated all those functions. Is P5E3 right board for you?
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Friday, December 14, 2007
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Today we will be looking at the ASUS Silent Knight II, a revised version of the original Silent Knight. The cooler features an all copper design for the main components yet weighs only 610 grams. ASUS claims the Silent Knight II performs very well and is designed to dissipate heat loads that are associated with today's high performance quad-core processors. Today we will be testing the cooler in our Thermal Environment Control Chamber to see how it performs against other coolers in the same price range.
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As far as laptops go, lately it's gotten as close as it would get to desktop performance in all but one area: Sound. For a while now, I've been looking around for a decent USB audio solution for my mobile computer -- and most of them are either impractical, provides virtually no improvement over my Dell Inspiron's integrated audio, or the features offered are simply not enough to make a difference. Last year, my friend lent me his Creative X-Mod USB sound device for my enjoyment -- while it has great looks and builds upon the X-Fi brand, the performance was more or less disappointing for me. After Asus' successful release of the Asus Xonar D2 sound card, Asus made quite a smart move and decided to expand on this brand to the USB sound device market. How will this sweet looking Asus Xonar U1, combined with a complete set of home theater audio technologies and features such as optical digital out, perform altogether? Is it the sound solution for notebook PC owners? We'll put it through our tests today to see how it goes.
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
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Ultra portability, decent specifications, usability and a pearly white design to wrap it all up, that's what you get with the ASUS Eee PC. And it's affordable too!
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The Asus Silent Square EVO heatsink looks like a big square block of cooling... and that description isn't too far off. The heatsink consists of two arrays of nickel plated aluminum fins which are wrapped around a 92 mm PWM fan buried within the body of the heatsink. The fan, a Sunon Maglev with Vapo bearings no less, draws air through intake cooling fins and expels it slightly warmer out through exhaust cooling fins on the opposite side.
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
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The rumors about its existence have been around since the GeForce 8800 GT hit the market but now, it's finally here. The new, revised GeForce 8800 GTS based on the G92 core is now available and we take one of the fastest incarnations available from ASUS for a spin. Details inside!
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Monday, December 10, 2007
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Smaller displays don't need to lack features, and ASUS proves this with their PG221 22-inch wide-screen. It boasts such specs as 2ms GTG, 2000:1 and stellar design. Where its unique though, is with it's large subwoofer. Yes, we said subwoofer! Do the features make up for it's higher price?
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Friday, December 7, 2007
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Who here wouldn't want the latest and greatest motherboard from Asus? Yup, I would too. In the crosshairs of this review will be the P5E3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP@n with the new X38 chipset. The Intel X38 Express Chipset supports new dual-channel DDR3 memory technology, next generation dualX16 PCI Express 2.0 and Intel Extreme Tuning to unleash exceptional performance in today's gaming applications. The redesigned Intel X38 Express Chipset Memory Controller Hub (MCH) architecture significantly increases overall system performance through the optimization of available bandwidth with the new 1333 MHz system bus and reduction of memory access latency with Intel Fast Memory Access. These technology breakthroughs result in optimized system architecture with built-in intelligence, greatly improving system memory performance. That is just on the chipset alone; what about the other features?
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The two cards are slightly different from each other; we have a standard 512MB 8800GTS which isn't something too out of the ordinary. The other card is part of the TOP series from ASUS which comes pre-overclocked out of the box. Let's not delay any longer and move on to the package of the cards before we check the cards out themselves and roll on into the benchmarks.
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Wednesday, December 5, 2007
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X38 is now here, and it's still a mixed bag in regards to how it performs. So far there aren't really any performance breaking features of the chipset, it's basically a P35 but with better Crossfire support and a few novelties such as XMP memory profiles. Today we are testing out the ASUS Maximus Extreme board which is designed to be the most impressive board ASUS has ever put out to market.
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When it comes to mobile computing, a major detractor for many enthusiasts is their limited ability to upgrade components. Typically, the hard drive and memory are readily accessible in most notebooks, but when it comes to graphics and other components, often times you are locked into the manufacturer's factory configuration or have to jump through hoops just to gain access to certain parts, let alone upgrade them. This can be a major strike against mobile computing, as many users prefer the upgrade potential of a desktop PC, knowing that their investment can be easily updated in the future if the need arises. Some user upgradeable options have begun to appear in the mobile space, however, like the product we'll be showcasing today at HotHardware, the ASUS C90S Whitebook. Head on over to the site and check it out...
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
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We recently got our hands on a motherboard from Asus, the P5N-T Deluxe, that we thought you'd like to check out. The P5N-T Deluxe is Asus' first nForce 780i SLI chipset-based motherboard. It features three PCI Express x16 slots and support for 3-way SLI, among many other things. We also pulled off the motherboard's oversized cooling apparatus to expose all of the chips underneath. Head on over to the site and take a look...
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