iBuypower Chimera AM3 SE

Review
Reviewed by: Bill O’Brien
Review Date: August 2009




ComputerShopper-In the world of PC enclosures, black has become the new beige. It’s getting increasingly difficult to distinguish one somber desktop-PC box from another—unless, of course, you’re a company like iBuypower. It has packaged its Chimera AM3 gaming PC in a black NZXT Guardian 921 case, featuring slits and slots to allow blue light to seep out from the inside. Furthermore, it has redubbed the case "Guardian Inferno," after applying enough yellow and orange flames to make a 1950s hot rodder green with envy. And those flames, though perhaps a cliché, are no exaggeration. This is one hot gaming system.



The right-opening cover might be a problem if you position your PC to your left. Likewise, the "front-mounted" ports are actually side-mounted and will be tricky to reach.


The base model in the Chimera series starts life at $999; our test version (dubbed the "Chimera AM3 SE") tipped the scales at $400 more: $1,399. The added dollars brought us a 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition processor with an Asetek liquid cooling system on a Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P motherboard. (That’s well above the base model's Phenom II X4 910 chip and its air-cooled heatsink.) Though 4GB of Corsair DDR3 memory comes standard-issue on both models, our test unit came with faster 1,600MHz memory, as opposed to the 1,333MHz variety in the base model. We also got a 50-watt bump up from the base 700-watt power supply, plus an upgrade from a 500GB hard drive to a 1TB drive. The real power upgrade, however, was the substitution of the standard 512MB video card (an ATI Radeon HD 4870) for a pair of 1GB Radeon HD 4890 cards configured in a CrossFireX dual-card arrangement. (For reference, you can read a review of a recent graphics card we tested based on the Radeon HD 4890 graphics processor, the Asus EAH4890.)

Sounds like a potent gaming platform? It sure is. While the Chimera’s 64-bit PCMark Vantage score (6,788) wasn’t quite up to the 7,200 mark set by the super-value Gateway FX6801-03 we recently tested, it's still among the top performers we've seen on that test, period. (The PCMark Vantage test measures general PC-application performance.) Another interesting set of results: On our 3DMark Vantage test, which measures 3D-graphics performance, the Chimera rang up an impressive score of 13,965 at 1,280x1,024 resolution, but the numbers that really amazed us were its scores running at 1,680x1,050 (10,885) and 1,920x1,200 (8,234). Those numbers are simply exceptional for a system in this price range.

In our real-world gaming tests, the Chimera proved itself more than able. In our testing with the game Company of Heroes, the Chimera consistently scored above 50 frames per second (fps), even at a sky-high screen resolution of 2,560x1,600. That’s a rarity since the advent of DirectX 10. It also posted scores in excess of 50fps, under both DirectX 9 and 10 and at all tested resolutions, in our tests with the much more recent (and demanding) game Far Cry 2. Considering that we tested Far Cry 2 at resolutions all the way up to 2,560x1,600, you'll have to try pretty hard (with the help of a very big monitor) make the Chimera break a sweat with most recent games.


The Chimera packs a full complement of FireWire and USB ports on its back panel.


Clearly, this Chimera has gaming well in hand for most mainstream gamers. It's also well-equipped for entertainment use. A 22x DVD burner comes in the base model, but iBuypower bumped our test unit's optical drive up to an LG GGC-H20L Super-Multi Blu-ray Drive that reads both Blu-ray and (now-obsolete) HD DVD discs, and writes to everything else. Officially, LG Electronics lists this particular drive as discontinued, but iBuypower assured us that it has a quantity on hand. Regardless, several Blu-ray-reader alternatives (as well as pricier Blu-ray burners) are available via iBuypower's Web-site configurator. None, however, is a Blu-ray/HD DVD combo unit like this one.

Naturally, the Blu-ray experience would be diminished without quality audio to back it up. To handle that, the motherboard supports eight-channel audio through both analog and the usual digital connections. (iBuypower can supply you with an HD-capable LCD monitor and a multichannel speaker set to complete the package, but neither came standard with our test unit.) The Chimera also has a 12-format card reader, so you can easily transfer your digital-camera photos onto the system (or do quick offline backups to flash cards, now that their prices have plummeted).

As tested (and even in its $999 base configuration, for that matter), the Chimera AM3 is a well-stocked system. If you think you'll need to augment the hardware down the line, though, you certainly can. You'll find room inside for three more front-facing drives (via two 5.25-inch bays and one 3.5-inch bay), as well as an additional internal hard drive. No internal card expansion is possible, though, due to the wide loads of the two Radeon HD 4890 graphics cards. Two memory sockets are open, and, in total, the motherboard supports up to 16GB of DDR3. Also, between what you’ll find on the side of the front panel and the rear of the case, you have 10 USB ports, three FireWire ports, and a pair of external Serial ATA (eSATA) ports for external expansion. That mix should cover most reasonable eventualities.



iBuypower has done a clean build inside the Chimera. Slot access is nil due to the dual graphics cards, but drive-bay and memory-socket expansion is available.



But wait—we did find one flaw! Most computer cases we've seen that sport front doors open from right to left. (That’s because most of us park our PCs on the left side of our desks.) The Guardian Inferno case bucks the trend by opening from left to right. Also, the front-panel ports are distributed along the left edge of the front panel, not on the front face itself. If you do typically stash your PC on your left, those ports will be out of sight and a bit tricky to access.

We can’t attest that the Chimera AM3 SE is an utterly extreme gaming platform—it’s not quite that. But for most mainstream and moderately serious gamers who aren't blasting away at stratospheric resolutions on a 30-inch monitor, it will do the job very nicely at a price nowhere near that of yesterday's $4,000 megasystems. And if you think of this PC in terms of iBuypower’s now-almost-unheard-of warranty (the company covers the system for three full years), it’s one of the best all-around desktops you’re likely to find for $466 per annum.
Price (at time of review): $1,399 (direct, as tested)

www.ibuypower.com
888-462-3899

Pros
Superb gaming performance for the price; more-than-ample external expansion; three-year warrantyKey Specs
Processor: 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Memory: 4GB DDR3
Storage: 1TB hard drive
Optical Drive: Blu-ray/HD DVD reader/DVD±RW burner combo
Monitor: None
Graphics: Two ATI Radeon HD 4890 cards (1GB each, CrossFireX)
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit)


Cons
No PCI Express- or PCI-slot expansion possible; awkward to access side-mounted ports

Editors' Take
The Chimera’s case may be sheer eye candy, but its gaming performance lives up to the flames. All but the most extreme gamers will find superior value in this PC.

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Philips Streamium NP2500 Review

CNET editors' review

* Reviewed by:
Matthew Moskovciak
* Edited by:
John P. Falcone
* Reviewed on: 07/31/2009
* Released on: 08/15/2008

Digital audio streamers generally come two ways: cheap solutions like the Airport Express that lack convenience, or expensive systems like Sonos that put all your music at your fingertips. Philips has always tried to find a middle ground; last year's NP1100 offered much of the performance of the Squeezebox Classic for considerably less. The NP2500 is Philips' successor to the NP1100 (although the NP1100 is still available for sale) and it offers several improvements, most notably more file format support, including audiophile-friendly FLAC and Ogg Vorbis. The biggest change is obviously the NP2500's color LCD screen, but we found it a bit of a mixed-bag in practice; we loved the album art eye candy, but browsing the 3.5-inch screen from across the room is a pain. If you can live with its quirks, the NP2500 offers much of the functionality of the Squeezebox Classic for less money and in a pretty package, but die-hard music fans looking for a wider variety of online audio service offerings will prefer the Squeezebox's perks despite its Spartan design.

Design
The NP2500 has a long, 9.9-inch rectangular shape and positioned right in the middle is a 3.5-inch color LCD screen. The screen is capable of displaying a couple lines of text, album art, and a full graphical user interface. It's a reasonable size on its own, but it looks comically small in the midst of the faceplate. The design makes more sense viewed in the full Streamium product line; the NP2500 essentially uses the step-up NP2900's design, with the speakers removed.

Still, the NP2500 would greatly benefit if the screen filled up more of the faceplate. Yes, it's easy to navigate if you're close to the unit, but the NP2500 is designed to be connected to a separate stereo or home theater system. If you're sitting on the couch, 8 feet away from the NP2500, the screen is tiny. Competing products like the Squeezebox Duet and the Sonos BU250 get around the problem with a remote that features an LCD screen, but those systems are more expensive. Meanwhile, the Apple TV is a more direct competitor that lets you browse your music collection using either the HDTV screen or via the Remote app available for the iPhone/iPod Touch. The Squeezebox Classic has a similar design, but it's text-only and is easier to read from afar.

The only buttons on the NP2500 are located on the top of the unit, and there are only four of them: power, volume up and down, and mute. That means you can't navigate your music collection using the controls on the unit; instead you have to use the remote. We would have at least liked a clickable wheel on the unit for times when the remote goes missing, or when you're standing right over the unit.

User interface and setup
The basic user interface is well-laid out, with simple menu options like Music, Internet Radio, Rhapsody, and Aux showing up on the home menu. When you start playing a song, the artist and song information show up on the display, with the album art in the background. We're meticulous about updating our album art and it was a treat to see the NP2500 automatically display it when it started playing our tracks. Album art is also available on Rhapsody tracks.


Unlike its predecessor, the NP1100, the NP2500 sports a color screen capable of showing album art.


While the NP2500 zips through the standard menus quickly, it's not quite as quick to sort through a large library of music. The competing Squeezebox Classic is much more responsive in this regard, where as the NP2500 chugs along at a slower--sometimes frustrating--speed, even when its SuperScroll function kicks in. It's not unbearable, but a bit more speed would really help the NP2500 with large libraries.


The NP2500 can feel a little sluggish when browsing through large music libraries.

As mentioned before, the only way to navigate the NP2500 is by using the included remote. It's a full-size clicker, which we like, but we did run into some issues. For example, the directional pad doesn't work exactly as you'd expect it to. Counterintuitively, the right and left directions won't move you right and left in the menus; you need to press "OK" to move right and the back button to move left. We got used to it, but occasionally we'd revert back to the more intuitive controls. Some people may also be annoyed that there's no option to fast-forward or rewind, which can be a minor annoyance, especially on podcasts. On the other hand, the remote does a good job of separating important functions like the volume rocker and playback controls, while the full number pad makes it easier to enter in search terms.

Features
Like all network music players these days, the NP2500 can tune in to the thousands of free Internet radio stations, instead of the standard AM/FM fare. If you can't stand what's available on AM/FM (neither can we) and don't want to pay for satellite radio (neither do we), there are plenty of great stations available online for just about everybody. Philips doesn't disclose what service populates its listings, but we found plenty of quality stations across several genres. If your favorite station isn't listed, you can register on Philips' Web site and add it yourself.

The NP2500 also offers access to the premium streaming-music service Rhapsody, which is a subscription service ($13 a month). Rhapsody allows you unlimited streaming from its gigantic catalog of music. We're fans of the service and the NP2500's integration is nicely done. All the albums you've stored in your library are available and you can search for new music, although it's a bit tedious with the remote. With the subscription cost, Rhapsody certainly isn't for everyone, but you can take advantage of the 30-day free trial to see if it's worth it for you.

In addition to media streamed off the Internet, the NP2500 is capable of streaming media off of a connected PC. The NP2500 comes with TwonkyServer software included, and our experience setting it up was fairly painless, which is quite a feat for a network music player. Our testing scenario included a networked-attached storage drive filled with music, including FLAC and OGG files, and we were easily able to point the TwonkyServer software at the applicable folders to create our music library.

Between Internet radio, Rhapsody, and your own music collection, the NP2500 can deliver tons of music options, but it's worth pointing out that the competing Squeezebox Classic has even more functionality. In addition to the NP2500's features, the Boom adds Pandora, Last.fm, Slacker, Live Music Archive, and MP3Tunes functionality. That might be overkill for most people, but hard-core music enthusiasts may prefer the Squeezebox's incredible array of options.


The included ports cover all the bases, including an auxiliary input to connect a portable audio player.

Around the back of the unit, the NP2500 offers up a few inputs and outputs if you want to use it with other equipment. There's a headphone jack for late-night listening, as well as a coaxial digital-audio output to connect to an AV receiver. There's a stereo-analog auxiliary input, which consists of two RCA jacks, rather than the more common minijack input. Rounding out the connectivity is an Ethernet jack.

Performance
The NP2500 is designed to be used with a separate audio system; how good the NP2500 will mostly depend on the rest of your components and the quality of the digital audio you're feeding it. Philips does include the "Full Sound" sound-processing mode, which purportedly "restores" the lost information from compressed music, but we found that it mostly boosted the bass. DBB (Dynamic Bass Boost) is another bass-boosting option, and we turned it off, too.

Apart from sound quality, we did run into a couple snags that dampened our experience a bit. The NP2500 isn't nearly as good as the Squeezebox Classic at playing back albums seamlessly (without gaps between tracks), on Rhapsody tracks, or songs from your PC. That might not matter to most listeners, but if you're listening to "Abbey Road" and there's a 3-second gap between "Sun King," "Mean Mr. Mustard," and "Polythene Pam," it can really take you out of the moment. Our other issue was that we had some difficulty getting the included TwonkyVision software to play back our albums in the correct running order. Upgrading to the latest version of TwonkyServer fixed the problem and luckily the included software worked with the updated software. Lastly, the NP2500 froze up on us a few times, sometimes taking a few minutes to finally wake up, but twice requiring us to unplug it and plug it back in. It didn't happen enough to really frustrate us, but we're hoping Philips updates the firmware to iron out some of these occasional hang-ups.

Product summary

The good: Digital audio streamer; unique color screen that displays album art; full Rhapsody integration; provides access to thousands of Internet radio stations; stylish exterior design; easy setup to stream music from connected PCs; less expensive than competitors.

The bad: Small screen difficult to see across room; interface can get sluggish with large music libraries; slight delay between tracks; no support for Pandora, Last.fm, or Slacker; included remote occasionally confusing.

The bottom line: The Philips NP2500 offers many of the features available on more-expensive digital audio streamers for less money and has an attractive color display, but it's hard to see from a distance and playback has some occasional hiccups.

Specifications: Device type: Network audio player See full specs

Price range: $195.70 - $209.86

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Acoustic Research ARIR200 Internet Radio

Product summary

The good: Wi-Fi radio with an alarm clock design; Slacker streaming; graphical weather updates; USB port for playing MP3, WMA, and Real Audio files; AM/FM tuner; can record Internet radio and AM/FM content to internal memory; relatively inexpensive.

The bad: Annoying hiss audible when music isn't playing; connectivity seems less reliable than other radios; no dual-alarm functionality; has a cheap look and feel.

The bottom line: The Acoustic Research ARIR200 offers lots of unique features with an alarm clock-friendly design, but it has a few quirks and shortcomings that keep us from wholeheartedly recommending it.

Specifications: Product type: Network audio player / clock radio / digital player ; Sound output mode: Stereo ; Amplifier total output power: 4 Watt ; See full specs

Price range: $96.37 - $114.99 check prices
CNET editors' review

* Reviewed by:
Matthew Moskovciak
* Edited by:
John P. Falcone
* Reviewed on: 07/27/2009


Wi-Fi radios would seem to be a perfect bedside companion, but surprisingly few of them are designed to work as an alarm clock. The Acoustic Research ARIR200 is one of few that is designed to (at least try to) wake you up in the morning, with a big snooze button on top and easy access to the alarm via buttons on the top. In addition, the ARIR200 is packed with many features not seen even on more expensive radios, including the ability to record stations to its internal memory, Slacker streaming, and weather updates--all for a very reasonable street price of about $100. So why the half-hearted praise? Unfortunately we ran into some connectivity problems (although only at the office) and the ARIR200 tends to emit a hissing sound that's annoying even at this price. We were also disappointed that Acoustic Research didn't throw in dual alarm functionality, especially because it's available on the competing Aluratek Internet Radio. The Acoustic Research ARIR200 doesn't have any deal-breaking flaws and the price is right, but a few critical improvements would have made us like it a lot more.

Design
The exterior design of a product is always subjective, but we'd be surprised if anyone considered the ARIR200 better than average. It has an unusual trapezoidal shape that tapers toward the top, and the majority of the unit is covered in glossy black plastic that attracts fingerprints very easily. That's more of a problem than usual, since you're likely to be groping the ARIR200 in a sleepy daze to hit the snooze button. Aside from smudges, there's no denying that the ARIR200 has a "cheap" look and feel, but it's worth noting that it doesn't affect the usability of the product.


The snooze button is prominent enough that you should be able to find it, even if you're half awake.


Like the competing Aluratek Internet Radio, the ARIR200 is designed to function as
an alarm clock, rather than a Wi-Fi radio with alarm functionality as an afterthought. On top of the unit there's a big snooze button, and there's a handy "alarm" button for quickly setting the alarm. The silver wheel on the far right is for volume. We also appreciated the easy access buttons that bring up weather and change sources.


The directional pad on the front of the unit is easy to use, but we found it a little slower than knob-based navigation offered on other units.

The rest of the controls are on the front panel. Buttons line the display on both sides, with the handy home button on the upper right hand corner. Below the display is a directional pad for navigating the menus. Although the directional pad works fine, we tend to find that knob-based navigation is faster on devices like these.

Features
The ARIR200 is technically a Wi-Fi radio, but to us its design really makes it feel more like an alarm clock with a Wi-Fi radio as a bonus. That's why we were a little disappointed that the ARIR200 only offers relatively basic alarm functionality. The best part is that you can set your alarm to go off to a variety of sources, like an Internet radio or Slacker station. However, there's no dual alarm functionality and you can't set alarms to reoccur on a specific schedule--for instance, only on the weekdays. The competing Aluratek Internet Radio offers dual alarms.

Particularly useful for an alarm clock is the ARIR200's weather feature, which uses the WeatherBug service. Press the weather button once to get today's forecast and once more to get a three-day forecast. There's a strange note in the manual that the ARIR200 comes with "complimentary four-year weather, on-demand subscription from WeatherBug." Yes, four years is a long time, but we still feel a little uneasy that the weather feature will stop working eventually, especially since we tend to use alarm clocks for decades.

Like every Wi-Fi radio, the ARIR200 can access thousands of Internet radio stations available for free online. If you can't stand what's available on AM/FM (neither can we) and don't want to pay for satellite radio (neither do we), there's plenty of great stations available online for just about everybody.

One of the unique features of the ARIR200 is its ability to record content, using its 512MB internal memory. We haven't seen this functionality on other Wi-Fi radios and perhaps for good reason; we didn't find ourselves using it very much during our testing. With so many ways to get access to music these days--from Rhapsody to LaLa to iTunes--the idea of recording songs off the radio just isn't as appealing as it was in 1980s with cassettes.

The ARIR200 is also one of the few Wi-Fi radios we've tested with access to the Slacker streaming music service. The basic service is free (after you sign up for an account) and you can choose from a large variety of genre-based radio stations. This is a contrast to the many other radios that offer Pandora; luckily, it's easy to try out both services online, so you can see which better fits your tastes.


Hanging off the back of the ARIR200 is the FM radio antenna.

Also somewhat unique on the ARIR200 is the fact that it includes both AM and FM tuners. As much as we like to rail on the current state of terrestrial radio, we actually did appreciate the functionality on the ARIR200. There are still some content that you can't get via Internet radio, most notably sports broadcasts. Likewise, if your Internet connection is flaky, you'll still be able to get your local stations.


Acoustic Research also throws in an AM antenna and an Ethernet cable with the ARIR200.


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There's a battery compartment on the bottom of the unit; in the event that you lose power, the batteries kick in.

The back panel contains some additional connectivity, including an Ethernet port, a headphone jack, and a USB port. The USB port can be used with USB memory drive filled with MP3, WMA, or Real Audio files; unfortunately that means songs purchased from iTunes (the AAC format) won't work. There's also a battery compartment in the bottom; the batteries act as a backup in case you lose power. If you're looking for compatibility with your iPod, Acoustic Research also offers the step-up ARIR600i ($200 list price), which adds an iPod dock to the ARIR200's feature set.

Performance
As essentially a souped-up alarm clock, we didn't have high expectations for the ARIR200's sound quality. We played through a bunch of different music styles, and while nothing wowed us, it never sounded awful either. There's very little bass and the sound isn't particularly detailed, but it's fine for casual listening in a bedroom. Overall, the sound quality was a little better than we were expecting, given the low-rent styling, but it's still nothing to get excited about.

While the sound quality is passable, we did notice that the ARIR200 emits a hissing sound in between tracks or when paused. To be fair, it's not that loud and when music is playing it covers it up, but it's hard to accept when other radios we test don't have the issue at all.

Our initial experience streaming music with the ARIR200 was disappointing. We had the ARIR200 set up in our CNET testing facilities and the ARIR200 had difficulty connecting to our network, wired or wirelessly. The few times when it actually connected to the Internet, music playback was unacceptably choppy, rarely getting more than 10 seconds into a song before buffering. Our corporate network certainly isn't exactly like a home network, but we had no issues connecting any of the other Wi-Fi radios we had on hand, not to mention other devices we had running off Wi-Fi. And the fact that the ARIR200 wouldn't connect via a wired connection was even more confusing; we've never had that problem before.

Testing the radio in a more traditional home environment was much better. We didn't run into any of the connectivity or buffering problems present in the office. That doesn't give us a definitive statement on the ARIR200's reliability, but since other radios we've tested haven't had a problem in either location, we'd at least make sure you have the option to return the ARIR200 in case it doesn't work for you.

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Turbo.264 HD

USB dongle speeds encoding but some quality lost in the process

by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com

Today’s Macs are miracles of speed and efficiency, but there are particular tasks that can take seemingly forever. One of those tasks is encoding and converting video. A couple of years ago, Elgato offered a tool to help strip some time from this process in the form of its Turbo.264, a USB dongle that took over much of the burden of encoding QuickTime video.

Earlier this year, Elgato released the Turbo.264’s more-powerful sibling, the Intel-only $150 Turbo.264 HD. Like the original Turbo.264, the HD model is designed to speed up video encoding. In addition, it speeds the process of converting video directly from AVCHD HD camcorders, lets you trim video clips before converting them, allows you to combine multiple clips into a single clip, and outputs video to HD formats including YouTube HD, 720p, and 1080p. And it’s faster on both slow and more-powerful Macs.

To the test

The proof is in the pudding and one of the main ingredients in this pudding is how long it takes to convert video with and without the Turbo.264 HD. To find out I tested the device on both a current 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Mac mini (with 4GB of RAM) and an older 2 x 2.66GHz Dual Core Mac Pro (with 8GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT graphics card).

I performed two tests. In the first I used RipIt ([Image]) to convert the DVD of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix to an unprotected Video_TS folder. I then converting the main feature from that folder to a single Apple TV-compatible movie with the Turbo.264 HD application. To compare its performance to an unaccelerated conversion, I used HandBrake (which doesn’t take advantage of the Turbo.H264 HD) to convert the Video_TS folder again.

I also attached a Sony HDR-SR11 ([Image]) AVCHD to each computer and imported a 6 minute and 44 second clip. I first used the Turbo.264 HD application to import the clip and convert it to the Apple TV ([Image]) format. I then imported the clip using iMovie ’09 ([Image]) and then employed iMovie’s Share command to save the movie in the large, Apple TV-compatible format.
Timing is everything

In regard to speed, the Turbo.264 HD performed admirably in each test. In the DVD tests, the Turbo.264 HD gave a nice boost to the both the Mac mini and Mac Pro. On the mini it took 36 minutes and 13 seconds to convert the movie. The unaccelerated HandBrake performed the same job in 2 hours and 13 minutes. The Mac Pro, with its extra oomph, helped HandBrake, but not enough to best the Turbo’s performance. On that Mac the Turbo converted the movie in 35 minutes and 40 seconds. HandBrake took 57 minutes and 10 seconds.

Pulling a movie clip from an AVCHD camcorder and converting it to an Apple TV-friendly format was also dramatically faster with the Turbo.264 HD. On the Mac mini, I was able to convert the test clip in 9 minutes and 29 seconds. It took iMovie ’09 10 minutes and 7 seconds just to import the clip from the camera. It took another 17 minutes and 5 seconds to export it. With the Mac Pro, importing the clip into iMovie ’09 was similarly slow—6 minutes and 28 seconds to import the clip and then 9 minutes and 36 seconds to export it. The entire job was accomplished by the Turbo.264 HD in just 5 minutes and 12 seconds on the Mac Pro.
The compromises

Regrettably, you pay a price for this speed—image quality. When comparing the videos created with HandBrake, iMovie, and the Turbo.264 HD application, the Turbo videos had more visible artifacts. Not jarring, “Aack, my eyes bleed!” artifacts, but noticeable if you look for them. Specifically, these were evidenced as jagged lines and video that looked a little soft.

Within the Turbo.264 HD application you have the option to create custom settings to deal with this kind of thing, but it’s a problematic solution for a couple of reasons. First, some Mac users may have no idea how to effectively tweak an overscan or data rate setting (much less a more advanced setting such as H.264 Profile, GOP Size, or Picture Coding). Secondly, when you tweak those settings it’s possible that the results won’t play on the intended device—set a video’s data rate too high, for example, and an Apple TV will refuse to play it.

And honestly, you shouldn’t have to go through the bother. Even more than Handbrake, the Turbo.264 HD is designed to be a plug-and-play solution. What comes out of it should be great looking video. Unfortunately, it doesn’t currently meet that standard.


The Turbo's results (left) are less crisp than what you get from a tool such as HandBrake (right). Note that these images are blown up 2x so the quality appears worse than it is.

Additionally, the Turbo.264 software wasn’t completely robust. There were times when the software failed to recognize that the dongle was plugged in—there one minute and gone the next. Plugging it back in solved the problem. And the current-as-I-write-this version, 1.0.2, got hung up when attempting to encode the Harry Potter Video_TS folder on the Mac Pro (it had no complaints on the Mac mini). Installing a beta 1.0.2+ version solved the problem.
Macworld’s buying advice

If you own an Intel Mac and routinely encode QuickTime-compatible videos or import clips from an AVCHD video camera, have just about had it with the time it takes to do the job, and are willing to sacrifice a small measure of quality, the Turbo.264 HD will be a worthwhile addition to your computing life, particularly if you’re using a slower Mac.

[Christopher Breen is a Macworld senior editor.]

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VoodooPad Pro 4.1

MacWorld - According to August Mueller, proprietor of Flying Meat and purveyor of VoodooPad Pro, the concept behind VoodooPad Pro is simple. It’s a garden for your thoughts--a place where you plant ideas, cultivate and develop them, link, tie, and combine them, and grow them into something real. After a couple of weeks playing with VoodooPad Pro 4.1.2, I’m pleased to say that’s not just a pile of marketing hooey. In fact, it may even be an understatement.



VoodooPad Pro looks like a basic text editor. It bears a striking resemblance to, and shares the same feature set as, Apple's TextEdit, which is enough to make you wonder why you wouldn't just use TextEdit. The answer's simple: VoodooPad Pro is able to link your ideas and other information together. VoodooPad Pro is designed to work like a highly customizable, personalized wiki, a type of Web site that allows you to quickly create, interlink, and cross-reference information. For example, type a name into VoodooPad; if that name appears in your Address Book, you’ll see a hyperlink underneath the name. Click that link and a menu appears, giving you the option to either e-mail the person whose name you’ve just typed or open their card in Address Book.


Create a new page within your VoodooPad Pro document and you’re required to give it a name. Type that name anywhere on a different page and VoodooPad automatically creates a hyperlink to that document. Click the link and you jump to the page; click the Back button and you’re back where you started. Also, as is the case in a normal wiki, if you type an intercapped word, like "InterCap," that word will appear to be hyperlinked. Click the link and VoodooPad Pro creates a new page titled InterCap in your document where you can begin adding new information.

he first time you open VoodooPad Pro, you see a home page that includes examples of the kinds of information you can add to a document, including images, Web links, and custom text and paragraph formatting. Any document you create in VoodooPad Pro can be encrypted and secured with a password.

As a word processor, VoodooPad Pro is not as powerful as programs like Apple’s Pages ([Image]), but I found it more than sufficient for what I typically do with a word processor and perfect for typing basic notes. The main document editing window looks exactly like TextEdit, right down to the location of the buttons, but VoodooPad Pro gives you better access to other text formatting options, such as font type, style, size, color, and spacing, using a floating palette. My only complaint about this palette is that the extra formatting options are buried at the bottom of 12 other document-related items, so it was sometimes a hassle to get to the tools. It would have been much easier if these formatting tools were grouped with the other tools on the program's toolbar.

VoodooPad Pro gives you several ways to create new pages in your document. You can type information, you can use the PDF button in the print dialog window of any application to send a PDF directly to VoodooPad Pro; you can drag text or images from a document or the Finder to a page; or you can use the Services menu to send selected text directly to the program.

I did find that PDF support was a little dodgy in VoodooPad Pro. PDFs sent via the print to PDF option could not have the viewing percentage changed via the program’s View menu item. The viewing percentages were inactive, so I didn't discover that it was possible to change them until I right-clicked the PDF document. PDFs dragged to VoodooPad Pro had these options enabled, but the percentage by which the size of the document changed never corresponded to the percentage I selected. In fact, in some cases, selecting a larger percentage made the PDF document smaller. Also, PDFs dragged to VoodooPad Pro could be double-clicked and opened in Preview, but those printed to VoodooPad Pro could not. The vendor is aware of this, and plans a fix in a future version. What I was really pleased to learn was that, because VoodooPad Pro really works like a Web browser, the program retains all the links within a Web page when you paste linked text copied from a Web page or use the Services menu to push selected text into a page.

For portability, there is a free VP Reader at the App Store that, as the name implies, lets you read VoodooPad docs you've synced to your iPhone ([Image]) or iPod Touch ([Image]). While you can't edit anything using VP Reader, all the reading features work just like they do in the desktop application. Internal and external page links are all accessible; embedded PDF documents are subject to some of the same limitations, but otherwise it's a useful way to carry your VoodooPad Pro documents in your pocket. Also, any VoodooPad document can be exported into several formats, including a Web export that creates a complete Web site based on your VoodooPad document. And VoodooPad documents can be shared and updated by multiple users on any WebDAV server, such as MobileMe.
Macworld's buying advice

VoodooPad Pro 4.1.2 is an excellent tool for collecting, storing, and linking information. The program's ability to intelligently create links to other pages in your document makes it easy to cross-reference information that you've already collected. While the program has some limitations when it comes to embedded PDF documents and access to some text formatting features, these are small complaints about what is otherwise an excellent program. The standard version, which is $20 less than the Pro version, contains most of its general features, but lacks event triggers, the built-in server, and whole document encryption. The Lite version, though free, is extremely limited and has relatively few features.

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GARMIN NUVI 265T

The Garmin Experience at a Bargain Price



Given the current state of the economy, not everyone has the budget to spring for a GI'S device. Fortunately, the 2651, one of Garmin's entry-level niivis, offers an amazing amount of bang for the buck.

The 265T measures 2.8 by 3.8 by 0.8 inches (HWD) and features a 3.5-inch, 320-by-240-pixel screen. For an additional $50, you can opt for the niivi 265W1', which has a 4.3-inch, WQVGA 480-by272-pixel screen.

Both the 265T and 265WT feature Garmin's familiar "Where to" and "View Map" user interface and have the same destination input options as on the midrange and even the premium 800 series. Input options include: Address; Go I Lome; Points of Interest (16 categories); Recently Found; Favorites; Intersections; Extras; Cities; Browse Map, and Coordinates.

The 200 series doesn't have Garmin Locate, a feature that remembers your last-known location when you remove the device from the bracket. The series also lacks players for MP3s and audiobooks, as well as an FM transmitter to send voice prompts to your car's FM radio. Still, the 265T and its siblings do have the "Where Am I" feature, a picture viewer, a world clock, a simple calculator, and a unit converten. A free upgrade called ecoRoute calculates your estimated fuel cost for each trip and provides you with fuel and mileage reports; it even adds a "Less Fuel" option to your Route Preference choices.





Though it lacks some of the bells and whistles of Garmin's top-shelf products, the 265T still delivers the Garmin navigation experience, with a complete set of maps, text-to-speech, free lifetime traffic, picture navigation, and ecoRoute to boot. And you just can't beat the price.—Craig Ellison

PC Magazine April 2009

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Brother MFC-990CW

Compact and stylish, this all-in-one printer is easy to use



There was a time when a desktop multifunction primer was so big it took up most of the desk, but those days are far behind us, as proved by Brothers latest colour inkjet all-in-one MFC-990CW.

It's compact enough to put in a small office and you could even find space for it in a bedroom or study. Measuring 468x375x180mm (wxdxh), the MFC-990CW looks quite stylish, finished in a mix of gloss piano black, satin black and grey.

A 4.2in wice LCD touchscreen dominates the front panel of the winter with large touch-buttons that arc easy to use. Some of the menu functions are spread over several screens, but this doesn't present many problems. The rest of the buttons each side of the touchscreen are also easy to use and well labelled.

The front panel holds the print cartridge compartment, so the four cartrdges are easy to reach and replace A Flash card reader (supporting Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro. SD. SDHC and XD). a separate Compact Flash reader and a Pictbridge port are built into the front of the winter.

The MFC-990W has a print resolution of up to 6,000x1,200 dots per inch (dpi), a copier will a 1,200x1,200dpi resolution and a 1,200x2,400dpi optical (19.200dpi interpolated) scanner; it can even be used for colour faxes.

The connections include L1582, Ethernet, 802.11b/g Wifi and Bluetooth, together with a Dect handset and dock. Bluetooth allows you to send photos directly from a mobile phone to the printer



The MFC-990CW prints around 15 pages per minute (ppm) in fast draft mode, but this drops to just over 3pprn for normal quality mono and just under 2ppm for colour It takes around 27 seconds to copy an A4 page of text and 41 seconds for an A4 colour page. Scanning d magazine cover takes around 20 seconds at 300dpi, which is good for this type of device. Simon Crisp

Personal Computer World April 2009

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Shuttle D10

A compact chassis with built-in touchscreen display




Touchscreen technology is all the rage at the moment. Apple's iPhone prompted a slew of touch-sensitive competitors and Microsoft has unveiled its 'Surface' technology that can be used to create large touchscreen systems. And new you can build a PC with its own integrated touchscreen display, thanks to Shuttle's D10 barebones chassis.

The D10 looks much like Shuttle's other small form factor boxes, measuring about 19cm high, 20cm wide, and 30crn deep. However, the front panel of the unit is almost entirely taken up by a Tin touch-sensitive screen (800x480 resolution) that allows you to control the PC without a keyboard or mouse.

The rest of the unit is pretty conventional. Its Intel G31 chipset and LGA775 socket will allow you to install Core 2 Duo processors right up to the E8600 running at 3.3GHz. It won't accept the new i7 processors though, and you're limited to 4GB of DDR2 memory Graphics arc handled by an irtegrated Intel GMA 3100 processor, and there's a single - rather cramped - PCI Express x1 slot for upgrades.

Shuttle says the PCI Express slot could be used for a TV tuner or video capture card, and the D10 would be good to use as a compact media centre PC. Shuttle says one of its main target markets is for video surveillance systems, which we find a little baffling. The ability to control the D10 by touch would be perfect for playing music - just fire up iTures and tap on the screen to select your music.



Using it to play video is trickier. The D10 has a VGA interface for connecting it to a large external monitor, but there's no DVI or HDMI interface to connect it to a high-definition TV or monitor. You could upgrade the graphics card for this. but some sort of digital video output would make the D10 more useful as a media centre or home entertainment system. Cliff Joseph.

Personal Computer World April 2009

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Three Ways to Install Windows 7 on a Netbook

Netbooks do not have optical drives for installation DVDs, but there are ways around this problem.


May 18, 2009 — PC World — By now you know that you can download the Windows 7 Release Candidate free of charge from Microsoft and use it for nearly a year.

Of course, the traditional method of installing the OS starts with burning the downloaded ISO file to a DVD, which you then pop into your desktop or laptop. That's fine if you have a desktop or laptop, but what about all the netbooks out there? They're notoriously devoid of optical drives.

Fortunately, there are ways around this problem:

1) Buy a USB DVD drive. This is by far the easiest solution, and it'll simplify installing any other software you may have on CDs or DVDs. I've seen external drives selling in the $40-50 range on eBay. Shop around and you may be able to snag one for as little as $20.

2) If you have a USB flash drive with at least 4GB of storage, you can make it bootable using the open-source Live USB Helper utility, then use the free Daemon Tools Lite to "mount" the ISO file to the drive. With that done, you'd boot the netbook with the drive plugged in and select it as your boot device. However, installing Windows from a flash drive can be very time-consuming — and the two aforementioned setup steps aren't exactly novice-friendly.

3) If you have an external hard drive, you can copy the ISO to it and boot from it, just like the with flash drive. Okay, it's a little more involved than that, but this is definitely the easiest method that doesn't involve buying a DVD drive. (It's much faster, too.) Check back tomorrow for a detailed step-by-step.

In the meantime, if you've already installed Windows 7 on your netbook, let me know what method you used — and, of course, how you like the OS!
© 2007 PC World Communications

source: CIO

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Maingear F131

Practically unparalleled performance at a pre-Core i7 price



WHEN INTEL RELEASED its ridiculously potent Core i7 family of processors last month, we knew it wouldn't be long before a desktop used its capabilities not only to break preexisting speed records but to mock them outright. We just thought it would take a little longer than it has. Maingear's astounding—and expensive—F131 has already done it.

The case is a suave brushed aluminum. It has a windowed side panel, and a switch on the back panel turns red LED lighting on or off inside. You'll find plenty of expansion room, including three external 5.25-inch drive bays and four internal 3.5-inch bays. Our test system's interior was tidily organized.

We're similarly impressed by the components, which include a multiformat card reader, a Blu-ray/HD DVD reader and DVD±RW combo drive, a water-based cooling system, and a 1,200-watt power supply to provide the juice for all this. Plus, free copies of Grid and Far Cry 2 are included with the purchase price, so you won't have to wait long to see just how well the system will handle them.

Armed with a 3.2GUlz Core i7-965 Extreme Edition processor (overclocked to 3.8alz) installed on the Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard, two ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics cards (in a CrossFireX configuration) teamed up with an Ageia PhyX accelerator card, an 80GB Intel X25-M solid-state drive for programs, a 1TB hard drive for storage, and 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate powered by 3GB of triple-channel DDR3 memory, the F131 seared its way through all of our benchmark tests. Among its productivity marvels: 21,464 on Cinebench 10; 2 minutes and 34 seconds in Windows Media Encoder: 2 minutes and 13 seconds on Mures; and 13,410 on Futuremark PCMark Vantage. The F131's gaming scores were, if anything, even more mind-blowing: 410 frames per second (fps) in DirectX 9 (DX9) mode on Company of Heroes at 1,280x1,024 (as well as 264fps and 162fps at 1,600x1,200 and 2,560x1,600 resolutions, respectively); over 55fps on all our DX9 Supreme Commander tests at the same resolutions; 43,335, 22,840, 16,998, and 12,915 on Futuremark 3DMark Vantage at the Entry, Performance, High, and Extreme presets, respectively; and 57.8fps, 58.3fps, and 54.lfps on our DX10 Company of Heroes test. (Despite repeated attempts, we couldn't get our demanding Call of Juarez benchmark test to complete, however.)

The big problem, of course, is the price. We have to admit that while the F131 easily muscled through everything we threw at it, even serious garners may wince at having to shell out $5,781. Maingear's own portable X-Cube (see review in this section) was behind the F131 on every test but still deeply entrenched in the kingdom of the unflappably playable, and it costs $3,000 less, though it's not based on a Core i7 CPU. For the most part, the systems that are based on a Core i7 CPU—such as the $2,374 Velocity Micro Edge Z55, the $2,499 iBuypower Gamer Paladin F870-SB, the $2,995 Falcon Northwest Talon, the $3,099 Vigor Force Recon T7N, and even the $3,809 Dell XPS 730x—aren't too far behind the F131 on most of our gaming tests. The Vigor even gave the F131 a real run for its money at the highest resolutions, surpassing it once or twice (on DX9 Company of Heroes at 2,560x1,600, with a result of 183fps, and across the board—if just barely—on our DX10 test with the same game, turning in 59.3fps, 59.3fps, and 54.7fps at 1,280x1,024, 1,600x1,200, and 2,560x1,600, respectively).



We're not sure that even the most die-hard garners will think the F131's two or three extra frames per second are worth an extra two or three thousand dollars. Gaming fanatics will undoubtedly appreciate the rigorous attention to build quality, the careful selection of components and extras, and even the overclocking—Maingear's devotion to detail is by any measure impressive. With its performance not quite in line with its high price, however, the F131 may be a great computer,but it's not the best deal. —Matthew Murray

Computer Shopper March 2009

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HP TOUCHSMART IQ816

HP's Snazzy Kitchen PC



The TouchSmart IQ816 PC is the big brother of the TouchSmart IQ506, and like its sibling, this model is an all-in-one PC with a touch screen that can work as its primary interface—perfect for the kitchen. The 25.5-inch widescreen is primed for HDTV content, with its built-in ATSC/HDTV tuner. It's a decent performer but loses a couple of points for being loaded with crapware.

The IQ816's real strength is that it's more touch-centric than its all-in-one rivals. This system has nearly the same build as its predecessor, with all of the internals placed behind the screen. The IQ816 is noticeably more responsive, working much like an iPod touch or iPhone. Also, HP enabled the input panel for handwriting recognition and on-screen keyboard functions by default.

But loading all these extra features has downsides, such as a longer hoot time and a taskbar littered with icons. Even so, once everything is loaded, the touch interface is snappy. Of course, you can still use the included wireless keyboard and mouse if you prefer.

With the IQ816, you can surf the Web wirelessly, leave handwritten notes to family members on the screen, play a Blu-ray movie, video-chat via the webcam, and more. You also get five USB ports, a FireWire port, 5-in-1 media-card reader, and a Pocket Media Drive bay.

In testing, the IQ816 showed passable scores on Photoshop CS3 and Windows Media Encoder test. The system's Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS graphics are competent for just about every standard task except gaming.



If you're looking for a kitchen PC, the IQ816 is a good choice. But for the bedroom or den, the Sony VAIO VGC-LV190Y is a better, if more expensive, option.—Joel Santo Domingo.

Specs: 2.1-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 processor; 4GB 667-MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 750GB, 7200-rpm SATA hard drive; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS graphics card; Bin-ray drive; integrated 25.5-inch widescreen LCD monitor; five USB 2.0 ports; one FireWire port; integrated stereo speakers; Windows Vista Home Premium.

PC Magazine February 2009

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Sling Media Sling Catcher

Watch video from a Slingbox, USB device or PC

Sling Media is best known for its Slingbox devices that send television over the Internet. This new product, however, plays video rather than sending it.

The Sling Catcher needs to be connected to your network using an Ethernet cable, as there's no built-in wireless. It connects to your television via composite, S-video, component video or HDMI. and supports both standard Pal and high-definition (up to 1080i) TVs.

The Catcher has three modes. The first is to watch and control a remote Slingbox. We tried this with a Slingbox Solo. itself connected to a cable set-top box The results varied massively. With a fast network connection delivering video at 4Mbits/scc. the Catcher provided an excellent picture that looked every bit as good as the original, and using the remote to control the cable box worked fine. On occasions where the video stream stuttered down to below 200Kbits/sec, however, the results were unwatchable. You'll need a good home network to get the best from this mode, but we found that Sling Media's own powerline kit did the job.

The Catcher can also watch video sent from a PC's screen using the Sling Projector software. We were sceptical, but the results were impressive: the projector is easy to use and makes it easy to select an area of the screen to send. We projected a two-hour TV programme playing in Windows Media Player, and it only stuttered twice You'll need a fairly powerful PC to use the projector, though. The Catcher can also show video files on a connected USB device. This works well, with a wide range of formats supported.



All in all, the Catcher is a good — if expensive — product for a niche market. If you have a Slingbox or want to watch online videos on a television, it does the job well On the other hand, we wish it supported UPnP streaming, as well as Sling's proprietary systems. Tom Royal.

Contact Sling Media
http://uk.slingmedia.com
Specifications Ethernet • 2 USB • Composite • S-video • Component video • HDMI • Stereo phono and
S/PDIF connections • Projector software requires 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo or 3GHz Pentium 4/Pentium M processor • 1GB Ram

Personal Computer World February 2009

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Trucall call screener

Telephone add-on blocks call you don't want and optionnally records those that you answer



The need to screen unwanted phone calls was once largely restricted to celebrities and victims of malicious or demented callers. Now junk calls are becoming almost as overwhelming as spam email and are equally tricky to block The Truecall system is designed to do so with the minimum of hassle.

The basic setup could hardly be simpler. You plug a lead from the little Truecall box into your main phone jack and your phone or Dect base station into the box. After a few seconds your phone rings and you are prompted to record a greeting message for callers Pressing the star button during a call to or from a number will place it on a Star list of callers you will accept and pressing the hash key puts it on a Zap list of those you won't. Starred numbers are passed straight through and zapped numbers are either left unanswered (you can't hear the ringing) or played a message of your choice

Unrecognised callers, or those without Caller ID (which include all from overseas), are asked to identify themselves so you can choose whether to answer. They can be cut off if they don't reply, eliminating automated calls, including junk faxes.

Options too numerous to list here are designed to deal with just about any conceivable type of telephone nuisance. Configuration can be done on the keypad, or rather more easily via an indirect web interface on Truecall's remote server, which carries an annual charge of £15 after the first year This also allows you to simply paste in a list of Star or Zap numbers. Holding down a button on the Truecall box sets up a dial-up link that synchronises data with the server.



You can pick up your messages remotely by calling your own number and calls can be recorded with the aid of an optional module . Clive Akass.

Price £97.50 (70-hour recorder module £24;140-hour £40; Optional server annual charge £15 after first year)
Contact www.truecall.co.uk
Specifications Recording software requires Windows XP or Vista • USB SD card reader supplied • Web access facilitates configuration but not absolutely necessary

Personal Computer World February 2009

This article is published in More Techs, Fun of IT and More of IT.

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Leave Your Laptop at Home

These supercool and inexpensive mobile apps let your phone do double duty on the road

Lugging a laptop and searching endlessly for a Wi-Fi hot spot (not to mention paying an arm and a leg for Internet connectivity) could be a thing of the past for the savvy traveler. As cell phones become more powerful, so does the software that allows them to be more complex and useful.

Whether you have an iPhone, a BlackBerry, or just a basic smartphone, there are tons of apps (many for free) that can turn your cell into indispensible, multitasking travel companion.



iPhone
Those who own an iPhone already know how handy it is when you're on the go. But you can also use it let friends know when you're coming to town with Facebook for the iPhone (free, go.pcmag.com/facebookiphone). And check your flight before you get to the airport with FlightTrack ($4.99) or FlightStatus ($4.99). If you want to find a good restaurant, hotel, or tavern, download Zagat To Go '09 ($9.99). And Cheap Gas! (free) will help you save money by doing just what it says (finding the lowest gas prices in the area you're traveling through).

BlackBerry
Fortunately for BlackBerry users, there's a onestop app for travelers called World Mate Live (free). With this powerful tool, you can create itineraries, use the hotel booking service, check the weather, see if your Hight is on time, and use the Connections feature to find people at your destination. Poynt (free) is a handy yellow pages for finding local businesses, and Where (free) is a great resource for exploring a city. It lists restaurants, nightlife spots, tickets, people, cheap gas, and more—and even helps you get there with turn-by-turn directions.
And speaking of getting there hassle-free TeleNav GPS Navigator (free 30-day trial, $9.99 a month thereafter) will make sure you never get lost with turn-by-turn onscreen and voice driving directions.








Windows Mobile
Having trouble keeping all your paperwork organized when you travel? Use Evernote (free) for Windows Mobile to tag and organize important travel information online, as well as write notes to yourself. Metro (free) is a must-have for traveling to urban areas, because it gives you public transportation schedules for bus, train, subway, and more for most of the world's major cities. If you're stuck in the airport on a long layover, try Pocket Live TV 1.0 ($19.99), which lets you watch TV from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and more.
—Erik Rhey

PC Magazine February 2009

This article is published on More Techs, More of IT, and More IT News.

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The latest version of Symantec's award-winning virus and spyware scanner

If you're happy using the Windows firewall or have another dedicated solution you're sticking to, anti-virus and anti-malware software is a must to shore up system security. Symantec has been at the forefront of this technology for some time and Norton Antivirus 2009 (NAV2009) adds a range of new features to address criticisms of both its own software and rivals in the same market.

First up is Norton Insight, an intelligence-driven technology that aims to save time by targeting high-risk files, which not only speeds up scans but means they aren't required as often. Automatic updates have been improved with the new rapid pulse system to ensure that your definitions are never more than 15 minutes old. The software has also been generally tweaked to give a better defence against web-based attacks and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of deep-clean scans.

All these updates (and there are more, which we'll highlight below) are welcome additions to an already impressive package whose interface now shows real-time CPU usage to underline the improved efficiency of the software. The main interface displays a reassuring green tick if all is well and allows you to switch each of the components on or off, run a scan or view recent activity and quarantined files. Custom scans can be created using a wizard-based approach and can now be configured to run when the computer is idle, and a silent mode prevents the software interrupting movies or games.

The comprehensive range of security on offer includes advanced heuristic protection, rootkit and stealthed item scanning and sonar protection which detects threats based on application behaviour without the need for a specific definition from an update.

Along with email, instant messaging, browser and intrusion protection it's a very reassuring collection of tools to guard against the latest threats. For those running a network in the home, the software will also monitor your wireless connection and provide remote monitoring for other computers on the network.

Scan results offer plenty of information on exactly what's been detected and why. and the security history dialogue offers further details for those who want to know more. Along with impressive usability and a nicely streamlined interface, Symantec offers both phone and online support if you get stuck or encounter a technical issue.

In terms of performance we did notice an improvement in both scan times and the load the software puts on your CPU when it's running. Though there were still some occasions when applications started to chug during a scan, the progress should make the software more appealing to those with older machines. The anti-virus tools are predictably top-of-the-line and have been certified by independent bodies VB100, W.C.L 1 and 2, and ICSA.

The rapid pulse feature also seemed to work well — rarely straying over 10 minutes and never past the quoted 15 minutes during our tests.



Overall, it's difficult to criticise any particular area of the software. While there are a few minor holes, such as the lack of parental control, it covers all the main requirements. However, it's the price that may put off those who prioritise value for money. While it is one of the best solutions of this type, NAV2009 costs around the same as some of the cheaper all-in-one suites out there. Paul Lester.

Contact Symantec
System requirements Vista Home Basic/Home Premium/Business/Ultimate • XP with Service Pack 2 Home/XP Pro/XP Media Center Edition • 300MHz or faster processor • 256MB of Ram • 150MB of available hard disk space

Personal Computer World February 2009

This article is published on Software Review, More Techs, and More of ITs.

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AMD Phenom II

The latest processor from AMD, in a PC near you soon




AMD's original 65nm Phenom CPU and Spider platform launches were a bit of a damp squib, neither really performing as well as they should. Much better things are expected from the desktop version of the new 45nm Shanghai server processor.

The new desktop part — codenamed Deneb — has a the size of 258mm containing approximately 758 million transistors, comprising four cores and will be better known as the Phenom II X4. It offers far better overclocking potential than the original Phenom. At launch in early 2009 there will be two speeds of processor, with many more set to come later in the year, forming part of AMD's new Dragon enthusiast's platform for 2009, which replaces the older Spider.

The faster of the two new processors is the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition, which has a clock speed of 3GHz, while the slower Phenom II X4 920 runs at 2 8GHz. Both will fit in existing AM2+ motherboards with a Bios upgrade.

The new processors come with 512KB of L2 cache per core, for a total of 2MB. and there is a 6MB L3 cache shared between the four cores. The integrated 128-bit memory controller can be configured to read/write simultaneously for dual 64-bit channels and can run at speeds of up to 1.8GHz, supporting DDR2 memory up to PC2 8,500 (DDR2 1,066MHz).



Both the new processors have a voltage range of between 0.875 and 1.5V, and a quoted TDP (Thermal Design Power) of 125W. For a platform to earn the Dragon label it must contain an AMD Phenom II processor, an AMD 790 series chipset and ATI H04800 series graphics. Simon Crisp

Price Phenom II X4 940 £257.31, Phenom II X4 920,£220.89
Contact AMD
Specifications 2MB L2 cache • quad core • 128Mbits/sec memory controlled • 3GHz or 2.8GHz clock speed • TDP 125W • 45nrn process • Socket AM2+

Personal Computer World February 2009

This article ispublished on More Techs, More of ITs and More IT News.

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Acer Aspire 6935G-844G32Bn

Launched in early 2008, Acer's Gemstone Blue range of notebooks has recently been refreshed to include Intel's Centrino 2 technology. The first example of the updated line-up we have seen is the Aspire 6935G-844G32Bn. a stylish 16in desktop replacement notebook that is crammed with features —and at an attractive price, just under £1,000.

The Gemstone Blue design results in a stylish notebook. The lid has a dark blue, high-gloss finish that is set off by a gloss black bezel and keyboard surround, with a matt black chassis bottom and grille above the keyboard. The wnstpad with its textured coating has been changed from the light grey finish of earlier models to a darker finish, making the whole thing look much classier when you open the lid.

Powered by an Intel Corc 2 Duo P8400 (2.26GHz) processor, backed by 4GB of 800MHz DDR2 memory, the 6935G has plenty of power to deal with everyday tasks and scores a creditable 5,862 in PCmark05 and 3,822 in the PCmark Vantage benchmark.

Powering the graphics is a 512MB Nvidia 9600M GT, which does give a fair bit of games playing potential (6,321 in 3Dmark06), albeit at lower resolutions and detail setting, but the 6935G is aimed more at being a multimedia notebook than a gaming one and in this respect the 16in 1,366x768 pixel resolution screen, with its 16:9 aspect ratio, is just the thing for watching movies on. It may not be full HD, but it's still good enough to watch DVD or Blu-ray movies using the built-in Blu-ray drive, or to watch TV on through the analogue/digital TV tuner card.

Aiding the movie or TV watching expenence is the audio subsystem. Two speakers are hidden under the grille above the keyboard, while the subwoofer is cleverly built into the screen hinge and the system supports Dolby Home Theatre.

The keyboard has good responsive keys, but the controls for the Acer Cine Dash force it off centre — and for the most part the jury is still out on the Cine Dash. While it does a good job of controlling your media content with responsive, touch-sensitive controls, we would prefer the space to be taken up by moving the keyboard to the left and using the space on the right-hand side for a full numeric keypad.

The touchpad features vertical scrolling and is pleasantly responsive to use, something that is aided by using the same textured coating as the rest of the wristpad. Sitting under it are two fairly small mouse buttons separated by a small fingerprint reader.

Storage is provided by a 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive, which sounds a lot but once you start downloading TV programmes you will soon find that filling up fast, so it's a good job the Blu-ray drive is also a DVD burner Built into the underside of the front panel is a 7-in-1 Flash card reader for easy access to your photos.



In terms of connectivity, all the usual suspects are there to help connect the 6935G to the outside world:
802.11a/b/g/Draft-N wireless networking via an Intel Wifi Link 5100 card, Gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR — and a good old-fashioned modem.

Battery life is disappointing, but it's debatable whether something that weighs 3.8kg (including power
brick) will be carried around all day. When we tested with the latest version of Mobilemark 2007, the six-cell 4,400mAh battery gave a life of one hour, 51 minutes for the DVD Playback test, two hours, 34 minutes for the Productivity test and three hours, two minutes for the Reader test. Simon Crisp


A laptop feast for movie buffs

Price £949.97
Contact Laptops Direct www.laptopsdirect.co.uk 0870 167 0818
Specifications Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 (2 26GHz) • 4GB 800MHz DDR2 Ram • Nvidia Geforce 9600GT graphics with dedicated 512MB video Ram • 320GB 7,200rpm hard drive • Blu-ray/DVD combo drive • Digital/analogue TV tuner • 7-in-1 card reader • HDMI out port •

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