HIS’ newest card based on the Radeon HD 4850 (their sixth overall) features the highest clock speeds as well as the latest revision of their IceQ brand of coolers, unimaginatively titled “IceQ4″. Reminiscent of the Fantastic Four’s logo, the number ’4′ is prominently featured on the front of the box along with a sticker in the upper right denoting this card as the TurboX variety – 10MHz faster than just plain “Turbo”.
Although a majority of manufacturers like to slap on some graphics and call it a day, HIS takes full advantage of the opportunity to showcase their card and the changes that the IceQ4 cooler bring with, including a larger heatsink area, bi-directional air channels and an overall new design using dual heatpipes, which should improve cooling performance while removing excess weight. Contained within the box is the card itself, encased within a plastic mold, along with an S-Video cable, DVI-I to VGA and DVI to HDMI adapters, a CrossFire bridge as well as the driver CD-ROM and Installation Guide. A specially branded multi-purpose screwdriver with built-in level and light source also adds some extra value to the bundle.
At first glance, the IceQ4 cooler doesn’t seem all that different from earlier versions; a dual-slot cooler using clear blue plastic to funnel air from a rear-mounted fan outside the chassis. That being said, picking up the card proved the opposite. Whereas the IceQ3 cards had some considerable heft to them, the IceQ4 based HD 4850 felt light for its size. At the core of the system, a large copper plate covers the GPU, which then rises upward as a series of fins leading outward to the bracket. Two heatpipes run directly over the core, pulling heat away from the hottest point to be cooled later on as they run back down through the finned area towards the left edge. Memory is cooled by a completely separate plate, preventing any transfer of heat from one component to the next. Additionally, a smaller plate sits over the MOSFETs at the end of the card, providing some bonus cooling and helping keep the pre-overclocked card running stable.
The majority of HD 4850s (including this one) ship with 512MB of GDDR3 memory, which is the major difference between these cards and the higher-end HD 4870. However, other than the memory change and slower speeds, the rest of the architecture including the same number of stream processing and texture units making these cards a nice investment if bleeding edge products are not necessarily in your budget.
To increase airflow, the shroud surrounding the fan is not only open in the front, but has slots along the back to let additional air in. The fan then pushes air along the plastic channel and exhausts out the back of the PC. HIS claims that the IceQ4 operates at a reduced noise level than previous models, and in our testing we didn’t notice any high levels of noise output even when overclocked or under a heavy load.
Gold plated dual-link DVI ports and S-Video output are found on the double-sized bracket. We also found two CrossFire connectors on the top of the board, which can be used to connect up to four discrete boards in a CrossFireX configuration when using a compatible motherboard.
February 20th,2009
Tech | tags:
ati,
hd4850,
radeon |
No Comments
The first in RIM’s next generation lineup of smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold has been labeled everything from an enterprise company’s desperate push into the prosumer space to a true iPhone killer. Most of the BlackBerry faithful are just hoping that it turns out to be a worthy merger and evolution of the BlackBerry 8800 and Curve device lines. This review will settle the debate.
Be forewarned, our review of the BlackBerry Bold is fairly large. However, we’ve broken the review down into specific sections for quick and convenient access to the information you seek. Make sure to post a comment to let us know if there’s anything we’ve missed, anything else you want to know about, and whether or not you feel RIM’s new flagship device meets the hype.
OS: 4.6
Network: Tri-band HSDPA (850/1900/2100MHz), Quad-Band GPRS/EDGE (800/850/1800/1900MHz)
Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g
GPS: Internal GPS with extended ephemeris, A-GPS support
Memory: 128MB Flash, 1GB on-board storage,
Expandable Memory: max. 16GB external MicroSD/SDHC
Screen: Half-VGA (480×320) resolution, Transmissive TFT LCD, 65k colours
Camera: 2.0MPx, 3x digital zoom, video recording, 1600×1200 max. resolution
Bluetooth: 2.0 support, Bluetooth Stereo Audio via A2DP and AVCRP
USB: 2.0 support
Video Support: DivX 4, DivX 4/5/XviD (partial support), H.263, H.264 (MPEG-4), AVI, WMV3
Audio Support: 3GP, MP3, WMA9/WMA9 Pro/WMA 10, MIDI, AMR-NB, AAC/AAC+/eAAC+
Processor: Marvell Tavor PXA930 (624MHz)
Dimensions/Weight: 114×66x14mm, 133g
Battery: 1500mAhr
Design
If a technology company starts talking up its notebooks under the catchphrase of “lifestyle”, it’s usually an indication that they’re more concerned with design sensibilities than raw performance, although the two are not mutually exclusive. Certainly, Fujitsu’s latest offering, the L1010 manages to chug along nicely, although some of the wilder claims about its gaming prowess probably deserve a good grain of salt to go with them.
Individual tastes will naturally vary, and you can’t say that Fujitsu isn’t going all out in the design stakes with the L1010. Our review sample was the rather pedestrian (and predictably fingerprint-magnet-style) piano black, but it’s also available in White and Pink Gold (that’s one colour, not two) as well as Turquoise Blue, Pink and Purple.
Marking your territory with a whacking great logo seems to be the style of the time — we almost entirely blame Apple for this — and the L1010 bears a small Fujitsu logo as well as a much larger “infinity” logo inset to the screen. The effect is very similar to the kind of thing that HP’s been doing with some of its notebook lines of late, although it’s much more subtle than some of HP’s rather stomach-churning efforts.
One design aspect we did like was the L1010′s generally solid build. It does look rather like a budget laptop, but doesn’t feel like one in everyday usage. Its low profile keyboard has decent travel and feels robust even when typing at quite high speeds.
Features
Our $1,349 review sample came with an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 2.26GHz, 2GB of DDR3 RAM and a 250GB hard drive split into two partitions. Graphics chores are handled by an Nvidia GeForce 9300M GS with 256MB of dedicated memory, although it will dip into shared memory as needs demand. Optical chores are covered by a dual-layer DVD Super Multi Writer, and the display is a 14.1-inch WXGA (1,280×800) LCD. For those who want more visual fidelity, there’s an HDMI output socket on the left-hand side, along with a memory card reader, three USB 2.0 sockets, standard VGA, gigabit Ethernet and an RJ11 modem socket. That’s a decent but ultimately not inspiring combination of components, all things considered, and especially at this price point.
For whatever reason, Fujitsu’s decided to marry the “lifestyle” concept of the L1010 with, of all things, Windows Vista Business, at least on our review sample. With this in mind, the L1010 also comes with an integrated fingerprint reader. While we can see why consumer users might like the fingerprint reader — keeping those “intimate” photos off Facebook, for a start — we can’t see too many business users plumping for a notebook that comes in White and Pink Gold. Perhaps we work in the wrong industries.
Performance
Its core specifications indicate that the L1010 should be a a solidly capable performer, and that was reflected in its PC Mark05 score, where it managed a very respectable 5,203 PC Marks. For the average web surfer and document procurer, then, the L1010 should be a capable enough machine, but that’s a statement that should be automatically true for any notebook in this price range.
On the gaming front, we’re inclined to be a little more critical, if only because of the way that Fujitsu pitches the L1010. We’ll dip into the company’s marketing-speak here:
“The Fujitsu L1010 is specially designed to pander to this generation’s fondness for gaming. Gamers can expect a perfect gaming experience without any motion lag. Besides hitting high scores in their games, Gen Y-ers can also score equally high on the cool factor as this fine-looking laptop makes any user look like a poised gaming guru.”
Erm … no. The L1010′s 3DMark06 score of 2,206 certainly isn’t the lowest we’ve seen in a mid-sized notebook, but it’s not going to live up to those lofty claims, especially if you throw anything even moderately taxing at it. And we’ve got no idea what a “poised gaming guru” actually looks like, but we’d suggest they’re probably not going to be fuming at their somewhat laggy laptop.
On the battery front, the L1010 came in at just under two hours using our standard DVD playback test, with all battery saving measures disabled and the screen at full brightness. You could expect more with a more prudent power saving scheme, but again this puts the L1010 into the average category. Given its above-average pricing, this makes it a tough notebook to recommend for most uses, unless the colour schemes on offer really inspire you.
Having the latest gadget seems to be the trend today. The world embraces every development and men continue to welcome more technological advancements. And in this state, TV viewing also follows the latest trend. In the present situation, TV brands such as Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung pave the way to flat screen and high definition television entertainment. But, Toshiba had made a remarkable introduction with its best ever High Definition Television.
Toshiba made a bold move by stepping out from the usual flat screens. They have modified the design and packed the model with impressive specifications. They have knocked the rivals out with their quality features especially the full HDTV display. They have produced a model that really stands out from the rest. Even the most informed and expert viewers would notice the difference of watching in a Toshiba full HDTV than in other brands’ flat screens.
This powerful model has Active Vision processing system, unbelievable 30,000:1 contrast ratio, three HDMI inputs, and the usual SRS WOW audio, scaling, scanning electronics, and of course Regza Link. How can a small LCD TV have all these? Only Toshiba has the answer.
Toshiba is known to produce user-friendly electronic devices. And true enough, their Toshiba 32xv505db model is as easy as doodling. The usual remote presents keys in the right places and readable labels. Installing the unit is no big deal and needs not a professional; if you can read and have fair comprehension then you only to press some buttons and you can start enjoying your home entertainment.
And just like the other impressive features mentioned, the audio is incomparable. The sound is truly beyond compare. The speakers ensure surround sound which makes the viewers stay in a comfortable seat and continue the entertainment. Indeed, Toshiba 32xv505db is a one of a kind yet all-in-one model that you shouldn’t miss.
Truly, High Definition Television outshines the good old standard TV. New technology has taken altogether the TV viewers interest into a new and better level.
January 25th,2009
TV | tags:
32XV505DB,
toshiba,
TV |
2 Comments
I’m just going to get this out of the way now, since I’m guessing I’m not the first to say this and know I won’t be the last–the Harman Kardon GLA-55 2.0 speakers look like they were hewn cold out of the side of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. With their sculpted, gemlike appearance, the GLA-55 (“glass”, get it?) speakers are certainly conversation pieces, with their clear PMMA enclosures. But the key question to ask of course if you’re going to pony up the 9 retail: how do they sound?
First let’s talk about the tech inside of it. As though no one told the Harman Kardon engineers that they were working on computer speakers, the GLA-55s pack a lot of the same technology as Harman Kardon’s high-end audiophile speakers. For example, the superior frequency range of the CMMD Lite tweeters gives the GLA-55s the clarity and versatility of a three-way speaker for the highs and mids, despite the two-way design.
The woofer is an Atlas AL, which claims to mimic the performance of an 18-inch woofer in a 3-inch package. I will say that while I disagree with that assessment–bass is clean but not booming–you’re definitely not going to feel cheated out of low-end. The excursion on the aluminum woofers is among the highest I’ve seen anywhere; the GLA-55s don’t have any grilles, so you can see immediately how the woofers move so much air under load you could probably dry a wet towel with them. Helping with the heavy lifting on the bass is a variable-width port design that eliminates whacking distortion, and an enclosure made of PMMA (an acrylic used to make bulletproof glass) which creates a super-stiff, resonance-free enclosure for the woofers. All of this is powered by 110-watt integrated amps, so you don’t need to worry about your input–important when considering computers or laptops as potential sources.
Volume is controlled via plus and minus touch-sensitive metal buttons on the left speaker. The buttons are very responsive and you can even quickly mute sound by pressing both the plus and minus signs simultaneously.
For my listening test I used a regular Dell Latitude D630 laptop playing some of my own FLAC-encoded digital music through WinAmp 5 with a flat EQ and the stock sound card settings. I have to admit when I received these speakers that despite their pedigree I wasn’t sure what to expect, whether or not these were simply status symbols or serious business. I’m happy to say that the GLA-55s performed not just admirably, but surprisingly well. The imaging was strong and rivaled floorstanding speakers at the same price point; not only was there clear localization between the guitar and snares in Alexi Murdoch’s “All My Days”, it seemed like there was no bad place to stand in the room. I could hear the soft clicks of the opening and closing of the pads of the clarinets in the opening bars of the National’s “Geese of Beverly Road”. The Fender Jazzmaster distortion of J. Mascis’ “Out There” was a thick wall of sound you could almost recline on. The bass on OutKast’s “Call of the Wild” didn’t shake me out of the room, but it was crisp and punchy without any “whack” or distorted grumble.
Oh, and since they’re computer speakers I suppose you could use them for games, too. For gaming I used my home gaming rig, an AMD 64X2 4800+ with a Radeon 3870 and just the stock AC97 integrated sound card. Most sound in games is digitally compressed and can therefore only be helped so much, but recent games that lean heavily on strong sound design such as EA’s Dead Space sounded great even without an expensive sound card, thanks to the broad soundstage the GLA-55s can support. Because so much sound in games can be significantly compressed, however, you may notice yourself getting the most out of the GLA-55s by using your iTunes library moreso than your games directory.
Are these speakers worth a grand? Ultimately that’s up to you to decide, but I will say that I have heard so-called audiophile speakers at this price point that didn’t sound this good. Regardless of the price, the GLA-55s are strong performers with virtually no downsides, save bass that slightly weakens at full volume (but, to be fair, these are 3-inch woofers) and a cosmetic styling that’s hardly conservative and therefore may not appeal to everyone.
Pros: Great imaging; responsive touch controls, extremely high woofer excursion for clean, punchy bass; performance equivalent to similarly-priced floorstanding three-way speakers in a two-way design that’s one-fifth the size.
Cons: Styling borders on gaudy; bass thins out slightly at full volume.
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