Take your HTPC to the extreme

Subject: Systems | March 6, 2007 - 05:48 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

ExtremeMhz has published the Extreme HTPC Guide.  They did quite a thorough guide, covering 3 pages of hardware choices that focus on telling you what options are out there, and which you might want, as opposed to giving you a choice of one or two cards.  The software section continues along the same vein, offering an overview of the software available, and the options, letting you decide what you need.  Drop by to see a great guide on building your dream HTPC from scratch.

New goodies in the Leaderboard

Subject: Systems | March 5, 2007 - 03:54 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Ryan has been busily updating the PC Perspective Hardware Leaderboard.  Every system has been tweaked, and in some cases the performance increased and the price decreased.

The new superclocked 8800's appear in both the Dream System and the High End System.  The Mid Range and Budget systems have new motherboards that offer good features. 

Check them out!

5 Quad core systems showing off their stuff

Subject: Systems | March 5, 2007 - 01:59 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The Tech Report has revamped some of their testing methods, and revisit some quad-core desktops that they've reviewed previously.  Among the many changes, they switched to Vista Ultimate 64 bit edition, so drop by and see what effect that has had on these systems performance.

AMD Demonstrates Accelerated Computing Solution that Breaks Teraflop Barrier

Subject: Systems | March 1, 2007 - 12:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

San Francisco - Feb.

Digital convergence in dire straits?

Subject: Systems | February 23, 2007 - 02:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

[H]ard|OCP takes a long hard look at the troubled life of HTPCs.  While a computer junkie will have no trouble assembling their own HTPC, either Linux or Windows based, they are not a mainstream product.  With PVRs and STBs making an appearance on store shelves, HTPCs already have competition.  Add to that DRM and HDCP, which make HTPCs not manufactured by a content provider difficult to work with.  Plus, you also need to make it HD compatible, and with enormous amounts of storage to be able

Dude, that Dell you're getting sure does cost a lot

Subject: Systems | February 22, 2007 - 03:31 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

In all fairness, the parts list of the Dell XPS 710 H2C is impressive, without question, but not as impressive as the over $5000 price tag.  However, if you are looking to buy an incredibly powerful gaming machine, without any hassle setting it up, and having tech support with it, then this may be perfect.  Head over to HotHardware to see how this box won Editor's Choice.

VIA EPIA EN-Powered Ainkaboot Octimod Cluster Makes HPC Scalable and Affordable

Subject: Systems | February 19, 2007 - 12:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Taipei, Taiwan, 19th February 2007 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator and developer of silicon chip technologies and PC platform solutions, today announced that Ainkaboot, a London-based company designing cluster servers for high performance computing (HPC) and high availability computing, is shipping the first ultra compact Octimod MPC7-1500 cluster modules powered by VIA EPIA EN15000 mainboards.

Think inside the box

Subject: Systems | February 16, 2007 - 02:48 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

X-Gene has created an HTPC case that gives you a little more room to move when creating your perfect system.  Virtual-Hideout has posted a review of the Mini, a box shaped HTPC system that is still small enough to fit in a livingroom without standing out, but bigger than most HTPC systems.  It still uses a mATX board, but gives you 295x235x350mm (roughly 11x9x13inches).  Read on to find out what other features are incorporated in this case.

Ultimate gaming machine, when it works

Subject: Systems | February 9, 2007 - 02:42 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

[H]ard|OCP has reviewed three ABS desktops, and one notebook so far, and they've increased that to 4 desktops with this review of the ABS Ultimate X8.  They have always been impressed by the quality of service they have received, but the quality of the build is a different matter.  How would you feel with bad RAM and a botched recovery disk?

The things that HTPCs are made of

Subject: Systems | February 8, 2007 - 03:22 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

One important decision to make when building HTPCs is to pick a case that looks good, fit's the components you want and keep them cool enough to run.  That is really only the first step.  Ars Technica offers some help on the next part, what components to stuff inside the case.  They have suggestions for everything, from the motherboard to the graphics to the OS.  Drop by to get a second opinion on what to stuff that case with.

4 recommendations for a Vista system

Subject: Systems | February 2, 2007 - 03:33 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The Tech Report has offered up 4 builds that will run Vista.  The Econobox comes in at $537.95, featuring an X2 3800, an ASUS M2NPV-VM and it's onboard 6150 and 1 GB of RAM.   If you can afford it, the $1691.92 Sweet Spot Machine with a Core 2 Duo E6600 an Asus P5B Deluxe 2 GB of RAM and eVGA's 8800 GTS will give you a nice start.  There are 2 other systems, and some alternate components, so go on and get some good advice.

High performace HTPC

Subject: Systems | January 31, 2007 - 05:46 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

NZXT usually focuses on cases for high end gaming systems, with lots of room for components and cooling.  Today, TECHGAGE reviews the Duet, a HTPC enclosure.  They have stuck with what they though, this case has two 80mm fans included, space for 2 120mm at either end and another 80mm fan in a duct, so overheating should not be a problem.  Read on to take a look at this fashionable case, and what TECHGAGE managed to get into it.

Systemax tries again

Subject: Systems | January 25, 2007 - 03:04 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The first time [H]ard|OCP reviewed a Systemax system, the Hellcat, things didn't turn out so well.  Systemax contacted them, and even dropped by their forums to address concerns that members had, and ended up promising to improve.  Now, they have sent their TigerShark system to [H] for review.  As is their wont, this is a full review, from purchasing through to tech support, by way of benchmarking, so drop by and see what Systemax managed to change.

HTPC with Vista and HDMI HDCP

Subject: Systems | January 18, 2007 - 05:22 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

Gigabyte shows off their sense of style with the outside design of the H971 HTPC system.  On the inside, it is powered by a E6400 Core 2 Duo and 1GB DDR2-533 on a Gigabyte 8IBGNBX-RH (Intel G965).   The graphics are powered by a silent Gigabyte GeForce 7600GS, with an HDMI port, and is HDCP compliant.  Drop by TweakTown for a full review of this powerful, pre-built HTPC.

Polywell gets another look

Subject: Systems | January 18, 2007 - 02:11 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The first Polywell system that [H] reviewed was a powerful SFF system, which has gone out of date for 2007.  Now they return, and order a Core 2 Duo E6400/7900 GT system with 2 GB of Kingston 667MHz DDR2.  As is [H]'s habit, Polywell gets a complete review, not just their system, but the ordering process straight through to the tech support.

NVIDIA Giving Away SLI Components

Subject: Systems | December 18, 2006 - 06:32 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged:

Starting December 22nd, NVIDIA and their partners are giving away a component each and every day for a year! 

Every day for a year, between December 22nd, 2006 and December 21st, 2007, NVIDIA will give away one SLI-Ready component to someone with an SLI-Ready, or SLI-enabled PC.

Each day, NVIDIA will draw a winner and post the winner's name here on SLIZONE.

Winners have exactly 7 days to contact NVIDIA and claim their prize - if they don't, they lose the prize and it goes bac

3 Christmas system recommendations

Subject: Systems | December 11, 2006 - 02:08 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The Tech Report offers their recommendations on four systems, running at $500, $1000 and three around $1500.  With 3 gaming machines, a workstation and an HTPC they've covered all your techie friends.

The perfect companion to an HTPC

Subject: Systems | December 7, 2006 - 12:22 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged:

The MediaLab remote control is an accessory to the ThermalTake MozartTX, but is by no means limited to that case.  VIA Arena has already covered a lot about the case, it's PSU and a 7" LCD screen to attach to it, that are all linked to in this article.  Check out the review for a look at everything you need to set up a perfect HTPC, or even an entertainment centre for your car.