With Computex having recently wrapped up, we've got quite a few new power supplies on hand for testing. First up is the Commander II 1200W from In Win. This is our first In Win PSU, but of course like many other brands, the actual ODM is one of a select few companies. The Commander II is an update to the original Commander, with a military aesthetic and a camouflage box to liven up the offering.
The previous 1200W Commander was made by CWT, but the new model improves several areas and comes from a different manufacturer. Features include a 5-year warranty, 80 Plus Bronze certification, and SLI-Ready certification. In Win uses Japanese main capacitors (though that doesn't say much about the overall quality), a modular connector panel, and one large 135mm fan. All of the Commander II PSUs, which includes 750W, 850W, and this 1200W model, are ErP compliant and armed with four +12V rails. In Win also makes a point of claiming “strict voltage regulation” of within 5%, but 5% is exactly what ATX requires, so we're not very optimistic. But let's see what In Win has to offer and if it might be worth the price of entry for ultra high-end system builders.
Continued here:
In Win Commander II 1200W
Reviewing the Antec Sonata IV presented an interesting opportunity for me: while the other cases we've reviewed thus far have been experiences with new hardware, the Sonata IV is the next in a line of cases I'm particularly familiar with. I've built machines in every model from Antec's main Sonata range; my dad's computer is in an old Sonata, my ex-girlfriend's computer is in my old Sonata II, and a close friend's machine is purring along in a Sonata III. As a result, it's a chance to see how Antec's design has evolved over time. But it's more than that: the Sonata line has for a long time been a go-to for quiet computing with reasonable thermals. Has that changed with the Sonata IV?
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Antec Sonata IV vs. Progress: Round Four
As part of our Computex coverage, I was invited to attend a specialized tour of the ECS HQ and have a chance to participate in a group Question and Answer session with ECS’ Vice President of their Channel Business Unit, David Chien.
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Computex 2011: ECS HQ Tour, Q&A and Booth
Along with ECS, ASRock invited me to tour their HQ as well.
The popularity of Intel's HD Graphics amongst HTPC enthusiasts and the success of the AMD APUs seem to indicate that the days of the discrete HTPC GPU are numbered. However, for those with legacy systems, a discrete HTPC GPU will probably be the only way to enable hardware accelerated HD playback.
In this context, both AMD and NVIDIA have been serving the market with their low end GPUs. These GPUs are preferable for HTPC scenarios due to their low power consumption and ability to be passively cooled. Today, we will be taking a look at four GPUs, two each from AMD (6450 and 6570) and NVIDIA (GT 430 and GT 520), for which passively cooled solutions exist in the market.
Gaming benchmarks are not of much interest to the HTPC user interested in a passively cooled solution, and those will not be presented. Instead, there will take a quick look at the specs of the four cards and a presentation of the HQV benchmarks. We will then see how the cards handle custom refresh rates and fare at deinterlacing. After this, we will proceed to identify a benchmark for evaluating HTPC GPUs and see how the cards fare in the benchmark. We will see how one of the cards springs a surprise and analyze the cause.
Towards the end, we will have a couple of sections to cover some developments in the area of open source software for HTPCs.
Read on to find out which discrete GPU fits your usage scenario and how to tweak it for a good HTPC experience.
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Discrete HTPC GPU Shootout
I remember standing in the audience of Samsung's CTIA press conference as it announced, for the first time ever, pricing and availability of its unreleased Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9 before shipping. The smartphone (and early tablet) industries have gone this long without having to really compete based on price, mostly because in North America the carriers subsidize much of the cost. If every device costs $199 under contract, why get carried away with details like how much it actually costs?
The Galaxy Tab however was playing in a different space. While Apple ultimately caved to the pressures of carrier subsidies with the iPhone, the iPad remains completely unsubsidized and its followers buy it by the millions. The magical price point is $499 and it was at Samsung's CTIA press conference that it announced it would be matching Apple's $499 price point, and even dropping slightly below it for the 8.9-inch version.
At the time it seemed like a bold move, enough to give Honeycomb the fighting chance it needed. The Galaxy Tab would be thinner and lighter than the iPad 2 but competitively priced as well. This wouldn't be another Xoom.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (top) vs. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer (bottom)
Then ASUS showed up. At $399, the Eee Pad Transformer not only offered a different usage model to the iPad and Galaxy Tab, it brought a lower price tag as well. Availability has been slim thanks to component shortages, but with the Eee Pad selling for $399 the Galaxy Tab at $499 all of the sudden seems overpriced.
Based on specs alone you'd be right. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 has the same NVIDIA Tegra 2 tablet SoC inside, 1GB of LPDDR2 and 16GB of NAND on-board. You get a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 PLS display and 802.11n WiFi support.
It's been a while since we've discussed AMD motherboards at AnandTech—over the next few months, I am hoping to bring them back. To start, we have our first Desktop Llano product on the test bed—the ASRock A75 Extreme6. Unfortunately, what I've been testing is still 'a work in progress'—so there are issues with the BIOS and design still to be decided. For now I'll let you know what I've found, in terms of performance and design. But when the full board comes my way with release information, I'll post a full review. Read more for a sneak peak!
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Desktop Llano Motherboards: The ASRock A75 Extreme6 Preview
