Corsair Hydro Series H70

 

Corsair's Hydro Series H50 has been popular for those looking to test the liquid-cooled waters, so to speak. Its prefilled, closed-loop configuration, good performance, ease of installation, and affordable price appealed to a broad swath of users. With the new Hydro Series H70, Corsair aims to improve upon the H50 in a few key areas while maintaining the appealing aspects of the original. Like the H50, the H70 is a prefilled, closed-loop liquid-cooler, compatible with Intel's and AMD's modern desktop processor sockets. The H70, however, features a thicker radiator with more surface area than the H50, dual fans arranged in a push-pull configuration, and an improved copper cold plate/ pump assembly. The end result is a cooler that's as easy to install as the H50, but with a superior ability to dissipate heat.

The H70 includes similar mounting plates, so the installation process is about the same as the H50's. The radiator and fan assembly attach to an available rear 120mm fan mount. And after installing the necessary retention plate for the par­ticular socket, the cold plate/pump assem­bly is screwed down securely. I tested the Corsair H70 (with its fans running at full speed) with a Core i7-975 at stock and overclocked (4GHz) speeds. The H70 decimated the i7-975's stock cooler. The Corsair Hydro Series H70 is a top-notch kit in almost every way, but the improvements over the H50 come at a price. The H70 will sell for about $110, putting a bigger dent in your budget than the H50. Still, we suspect enthusiasts who opt for the H70 will ultimately be pleased by its performance ..•   by Marco Chiappetta

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Western DigitallY Live Plus

We became fans of Western Digital's second-generation TV Live shortly after its Fall 2009 launch. It wouldn't play DRM content from Amazon Un­box or the iTunes Store, but it handled pretty much every video and audio file format in our collection. A tiny remote, Ethernet port, HDMI 1.3, 1080p, S/PDIF, component, and composite support clinched the deal. The 10-foot UI was functional but Spartan. We liked the support for media services, such as Flickr, YouTube, and Pandora (with varying degrees of functionality), but found the lack of Hulu and Netflix to be obvious omissions. WD's new TV Live Plus model keeps everything we loved about the original. It also has no storage,   but it features USB 2.0 ports for USB flash or hard drives with stored media. You can stream content directly across your network if you choose not to use additional storage. We recommend an 802.11n or wired connection for streaming HD video. Netflix streaming is the major new feature on TV Live Plus. However, you can also manage your Instant Queue without logging into a computer. The other big feature gives you the ability to navigate DVD menus on ISO images of DVDs. That means you can mount an ISO image of a DVD and use it like a physical disc. Firsthand experience dic­tates that moving all your physical DVD media from the TV room into the ga­rage will please your significant other, create space, and provide instant access to your film library. Overall, TV Live Plus is an incremen­tal improvement over the prior, already decent model. The quiet and very small hardware plays everything we care about with ease, and it's reasonably priced. We'd like to see USB 3.0 support, a backlit remote, bundled 802.11 n, Hulu support, and a prettier UI in the next iteration, please

 

by William Van Winkle

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Logisys 2.4GHz Wireless

Spend just five minutes with the Switchable Mouse, and it's apparent that Logisys didn't set out to do anything too fancy with this input device except give users an attractive, affordable option that will work as easily with a notebook as with a desktop Pc. My guess is, however, you'll be more inclined to permanently match the mouse with your notebook. Overall, the rodent's diminutive size lends itself far bet­ter as an option during those times when the prospect of using a touchpad for long periods just isn't that appealing. Picture a baseball that's been cut in half and you have a good idea about the Switch­able Mouse's size and shape. Its light weight makes it a great fit for a notebook bag,

but the mouse got lost in my largish hand when I used it for long stretches with a desktop Pc. The mouse is a looker, though. My test unit was decked out in silver and white trimmings complete with reflective chrome covering the backside. Models are also available in black/silver, green/white, and red/black.

 

the tiny, nickel-sized nano RF transceiver that makes wireless use possible. A couple features worth noting include a button on top to switch between 800dpi and 1,600dpi. I preferred the 1,600dpi option in all my usage. Elsewhere, although the scroll wheel lacks horizontal scrolling, you can move between a Hyper-Fast mode for scrolling long documents and Web pages and a Click-to-Click mode when you need more precision. If you desire more beyond this, you'll need to look elsewhere, as what you're getting here is a basic mouse that's ready to use immediately upon plugging in the transceiver

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Pinel & Pinel Arcade 80's Trunk

 

Much of French artisan Fred Pinel's (www.pineletpinel.com) handbuilt output consists of boxes, leather, and leather-wrapped boxes. It only makes the odd multimedia novelty stand out the more. Peep this, a $17,200 steamer trunk straight outta the '80s, a fa Rick(y) Schroder's "Silver Spoons" or Richard Pryor's "The Toy." Also available in crocodile skin, this game cabinet throws threescore arcade classics such as Pac-Man onto a 1080p screen. It's also an iPod dock with 110dB of thunder-and why not? Elsewhere, Pinel sells a Movie Trunk. This self-enclosed home theater on wheels comes with a Bang & Olufsen flatscreen, DVD player, and sound system. Hard to believe it's from the same firm that sells a dog collar/ladies' bracelet .

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Panasonic HDC-SDT750

 

 

If 3D is going to have any kind of success in the living room, we would hope that home users will have a reasonable way to make their own 3D content. Panasonic (panasonic.net) could supply the missing link with the HDC-SDT750 camcorder, currently preselling at $1,399.95 online for October delivery, plus a couple of models already shipping in Japan (HDC-TM650 ~ and HDC-TM750). Each of these SD memory card cams shoots 2D A VCHD video at 1080/60p and in 5-channel Dolby surround sound. Hook up the included VW-CLT1Iens attachment, however, and you'll record 3D video with two %0 x 1,080 frames side-by-side. You can enjoy the footage on your 3D TV through connections such as HDMI, archive it to AVCHD DVD or BD, and even edit it with the included HD Writer AE 2.6T 3D-compatible editing software

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Swiftpoint Bypasses The Touchpad

 

 

New Zealand-based Swiftpoint promises that its itty, bitty 1,000dpi optical mouse ($69.95) will "change the way you use your laptop forever," and it may be right. Designed to work on a notebook's palmrest, the impish rodent is said to be 30 to 40% more efficient than a touchpad and accurate enough for graphic design and gaming tasks. Further, beyond providing a scroll wheel (zooming and paging), the mouse magnetically docks to its USB micro receiver during travel. Better, a 30-second charge provides an hour of mousing, while a full charge gives you three weeks' usage. The mouse's best feature, however, is arguably the pen-like grip you'll use, which is both intuitive and wards offhand cramps, Swiftpoint claims

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Bigfoot Networks Cozies Up To Aliens

Bigfoot Networks may not be a household name among general PC consumers, but in hardcore gaming circles the company's gaming net­work cards have earned a solid reputation, including the company's latest effort, the Killer 2100. Unlike "dumb" NICs that cause "huge, unpredictable latency spikes" during gameplay, Bigfoot states that the Killer 2100 "has latency in microseconds" thanks to its NPU (Net­ work Processing Unit) that offloads game data from the CPU and Windows. The card evidently impressed Alienware enough for the game system builder to announce

in mid-August that it's offering the Killer 2100 in Aurora, Aurora ALX, Area- 51, and Area­51 ALX systems. Alienware's Frank Azor stated the NI C-system combo "represents a lethal combination-maximizing performance for more frags, faster leveling, and higher scores."

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