Trendnet High-Speed PC-To-PC Share Cable (TU2-PUNK)

Say you have a notebook. You're trav­eling, and somebody hits your screen with a 2x4. (It could happen.) The system still works, kind of, but you need a new unit ASAP before your old one dies. So, you rush to the store, grab a new machine, and now have to deal with transferring all of your data. Doing this over a LAN-if you have one available--is slow and cum­bersome at best. Ditto that for using USB Bash drive or (shudder) optical stOrage. Now imagine taking this 6-foot USB patch cable and conneaing the two systems with it. No software installation, no driv­ers-just plug it in. Matching file browsers pop up on both PCs showing the local and remote file system, looking a lot like rwo instances of Windows Explorer in split­screen. The beauty of this arrangement is that you can simply navigate through

 

High-Speed PC-To-PC Share Cable (TU2-PClINK) $24.99 Trendnet www.trendnet.com ••••

the file tree of one system and drag and drop files and folders to make the other sys­tem march. We tried the Share Cable with two netbooks. Historically, we've Strug­gled with tools such as Windows Easy Transfer, which makes tOO many as­sumptions about what files you want and where they're located. Trendnet's tool gives fast bur granular control to users who actually know where their data is located. Just start at the top of each vol­ume and work your way through the folders. After migrating about 20GB of data, includ­ing an Outlook PST file and loads of media, we estimated that the cable could move about 1 GB per minute-pretty de­cent considering the time savings of not having to deal wi th a network or installing a third­partyapp. ot every great tool has to feature groundbreaking technol­ogy, and, in the righr circumstances, the Share Cable might JUSt be a life­saver. If nothing else, it can save hours of restoration work.

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Aerocool Ox - 2000

Compacr cases are sweet. Thanks ro some tasty microATX boards, we know that a small form-factor chassis won't limit us on performance. And if said chassis likewise doesn't limit us to low-pro­file graphics adapters and HTPC-style power supplies, that's like having our cake and eating it, too. Aerocool's debut cube case is the Qx- 2000, part of the company's PGS Q Series. It features four full-heighr expansion slots, about 11.8 inches of room for a longer graphics card, and enough clearance for a standard PSU no longer than 5.5 inches (not included). Aerocool does warn, how­ever, that if you have a modular power supply that approaches this length limit, the hard drive cage might interfere with its cable connectors.

Unlock the Qx-2000's upper Story, and you can lifi: it up on a pair of hinges for unfettered access to the motherboard platform below. The mainboard shares the ground floor wi rh the floppy drive, while the upper level hosts the power supply and drives. TIle Boor underneath the PSU is perforated for borrornfacing funs, but we would CUt a hole here for better air­flow and quieter acoustics. On the front panel, the chunky pOrt­hole with a domed speaker grille actually houses a 120mm fan. It's the Qx-2000's sole included blower, although you'll get cutouts for three 80mm exhausts and a

 

GOmm intake should you wish to upgrade. Styled buttons on the fascia let you regulate the fun speed and change its LED color (red, blue, or off). Despite its funny car design and light weight, when dosed, the chassis feels quite sturdy. In contrast, the faceplate plastic is a little thin and has a good deal of Bex to it. We do wish that Aerocool wOLJd have drilled a few more holes to accommodate 2.5-inch drives including SSDs. Still, for the Qx-2000's fair price, we wOLJd be will­ing to make the necessary drive suPPOrt and cooling modifications ourselves .•••

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Nvidia GeForce GTX 480

Nvidia's long anticipated enthusiast graphics card, the GeForce GTX 480, has finally arrived at [he DirecrX II ball. Read on to see whether vidia's darling is fashionably late or wearing last year's dress.

bigger, bur the GTX 480's 40nm die is far denser. GF 100 features 16 streaming multipro­cessors, each of which contains 32 CUDA cores, for a total of 512 CUDA cores. At least that was [he plan. The GTX 480 has 15 SMs active, giving the card 480 CUDA cores. TSMC's yield problerns have undoubtedly contributed to Fermi's de­lay, but the day following Fermi's debut, Nvidia's Director of Technical Marketing Tom Peterson told us that he is pleased with GFIOO yields. The I O.5-inch-long GTX 480 sports a pair ofDVI portS and a mini HDMI POrt, has a max board power of250 watts, and includes 6- and 8-pin PCI-E power connectors to meet those demands.

The GPU Goods The GTX 480 is builr around Nvidia's most ambitious GPU to date; the 40nm GF 100 is a 529mm2 die comprising more than 3 billion transistors. N vidia's last­generation flagship, the GTX 280, and the GTX 480's direct rival, the ATI Radeon HD 5870, feanire 1.4 billion and 2.15 bil­Lon transistors on 576nun2 and 334mm2 dies, respectively. Sure, the GTX 280's 65nm process-based die was physically

The Numbers

In our thermal tests (probe on the heatsink, Call Of Pripyat), Fermi peaked at 75 degrees Celsius. The Radeon HD 5970 (probe on the hearsink) pushed the dig­ital mercury to 58 C. Nvidia tells us the GTX 480 can handle it, but we'd argue [hat your other components will feel the heat without additional cooling, per­haps from a side-panel fan. I n our so und tests (sound meter at the

GeForce GTX 480 $499 Nvidia www.nvidia.com

 

hearsink fan; Call Of Pripyat), the GTX 480 hovered between 72 and 74.5dB. The Radeon HD 5970 was quieter, at 66 to 69dB, and the Radeon HD 5870 peaked at 60 to 63.5dB. These results illustrate the raw difference between the cards but do not represent what you will experience. You will notice when the GTX 480 spins up, but the sounds of squealing tires or gLUlfire should easily drown it out. Barring [he synthetic 3DMark Vantage scores and DX9 Left 4 Dead, the GTX 480 bested the 5870. Games such as Dirt 2 and Call Of Pripyat utilize tessellation's triangle-multiplying technology, whim is a major component ofDXll, but the GTX 480 failed to pull significantly ahead even here. I t performs well enough to become the fastest single-GPU graphics card but falls significantly short of top­pling the 5970. Final Word

By now, you know what Nvidia brings to the cable in PhysX, 3D Vision Surround (requires two cards in SU), and CUDA, whim are compelling for gaHlers and en­th usiasts alike. If the GTX 480's price doesn't faze you, you have a sufficiencly cooled case, and you can find one in Stock, then the GTX 480 may be for you. But even without a price CUt, the Radeon HD 5870 is still, seven months later, a com­pelling

alternative for the more cash­strapped among us .

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Toshiba Brings Mini HD Camcorder Stateside

 

 

 

As of mid-April, U.S. ED camcorder buyers can now purchase what most of the world already could with Toshiba's Camileo line of mini camcorders. Initially, Toshiba is releasing the 5MP S20 ($179.99), 10MP H30 ($249.99), and I OMP XI 00 ($399.99). All models include HDMI and USB 2.0 connections, but the S20 with its full 1080p resolution, 3-inch swiveling display, 4X digital zoom, maxi­mum 32GB storage (via SDfSDHC card), and YouTube upload button most resemble me size and scope of Cisco's mega-popular Flip Video cameras. Speaking of which, Cisco recently added the Flip SlideHD ($279.99) to its stable complete with upright-sliding 3-inch touchscreen and headphone jack, borh firsts for the Flip series. The SlideHD stores four hours ofHD video but is a $50 increase over the Flip MinoHD and a $100 bump over the Ultra HD, both of which store two hours of ED video .

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Stowaway Resurfaces In Time For Tablets

Back when PDAs ruled the mobile space, iGo's full-sized, foldable Stowaway Keyboard was the accessory for typists with a strong aversion to tiny keypads.

Despite iGo discontinuing the Stowaway and selling its intellectual property years ago, it appears the portable keyboard is making a comeback in the form of the Foldable Mini USB Keyboard (about $53) via new owner Thanko. This time around, however, the board touts a USB connection, making it a natural fit for the bevy of tablets now following in the Apple i Pad's footsteps. Reportedly, the board weighs roughly 8 ounces, has a 19mm key pitch, supports Windows and Mac O'Ses, and folds down to 3.6 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches for traveling.

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