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Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower reveal Phenom II X6 1090T-based bargain desktops
It's akin to clockwork, as they say -- Maingear, iBuyPower and CyberPower have all decided to pump out new and / or revised gaming desktops based on AMD's latest and greatest (and cheapest, some would argue) six-core processor, barely waiting 24 hours to do the honors. The Phenom II X6 1090T certainly has the whole low-price thing going for it, enabling this trio of PC builders to offer up complete systems starting at under $1,000. Maingear's new Limited Edition Vybe packs a $999 price tag, USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps support, ATI's Radeon 5000 series graphics, a DVD burner, 640GB WD Caviar Black SATA 6G hard drive and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. Over in CyperPower land, users can select a variety of 1090T-based rigs starting at just $699, while iBuyPower is revamping the Chimera 2-Q, Gamer Fire and Gamer HAF systems to include the new silicon and an all-too-tempting sub-$1k starting point. The whole lot is available to be customized right this moment, but we're in no position to help you choose between options A, B, C, D, E or F. And G is looking mighty promising, too.
HP rolls out Pavilion s5305z, s5350, Pavilion Elite HPE-190t desktops
HP may be getting ready to "do amazing" with its Slate, but last we checked it was still the biggest desktop PC maker around, and it's now further expanded its offerings with three new models. Those include the Pavilion Slimline s5305z and s5350z, which are available with a range of different AMD processors and ATI Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce graphics, along with up to 4GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive on the s5305z, or 8GB of RAM and 1.5TB of storage on the s5350z. Those are joined by the higher-end, and decidedly less slimline Pavilion Elite HPE-190t (pictured at right), which packs a 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU, up to 24GB of RAM, up to 3TB of storage, and your choice of an ATI Radeon HD 5570 or 4850, or an NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 graphics card. Look for that one to start at $1,899.99, while the s5305z and s5350z drop all the way down to $299.99 and $479.99, respectively.
How would you change Alienware's M11x?
Call it the little laptop that could, or just call it Alienware's most adorable machine ever. Whatever you call it, Alienware's M11x made all sorts of waves when it splashed down into an essentially empty market segment earlier this year, offering hardcore gamers the opportunity to take their first-person shooters onto cramped buses and coach airline seats with more comfort than ever before. Of course, all that power comes at a price, and while we already expressed our own feelings on the thing, we're interested in knowing how you feel about seeing triple-digit FPS numbers on an 11-inch display. Is the experience better or worse than you anticipated? Have you ditched your desktop replacement for good? Are you wondering why on Earth you chose this over a netbook? Let us know how you'd overhaul the M11x if you had the chance down in comments below. And make it good.
CyberPower, Digital Storm and Maingear add NVIDIA Fermi GPUs to flagship gaming PCs
Origin PC kicked things off on Friday by shoving NVIDIA's latest and greatest into its Genesis desktop, and now a few more in the custom PC game have upped the ante by offering a similarly delectable taste of Fermi. NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX 470 and 480 have been all the rage over the weekend, and if those raucous benchmarks have you convinced that the time to buy is now, a trio of system builders are here vying for your attention. Digital Storm's Black|OPS rig can now be ordered with a GTX 480 (starts at $2,891), while CyberPower is giving prospective customers the ability to add the latest Fermi GPUs into a smattering of towers. Maingear's formidable SHIFT supercomputer is also seeing the update, but it's really asking for trouble with a triple GTX 480 configuration that demands a minimum investment of $6,199. In related news, ASUS, Zotac and a slew of other GPU makers are cranking out new boards based on the minty fresh core, so you shouldn't have a difficult time finding one if the rest of your rig is a-okay for now.
Origin PC stuffs 4.4GHz Core i7-980X, Fermi-based GTX 470 and 480 into Genesis desktop
Hope you didn't just pull the trigger on a new Origin PC Genesis, else you'll be forced to know that your rig was made obsolete in record time. Okay, maybe not obsolete, but there's precisely no doubt that you'd rather be rocking a new Fermi card than whatever you've got now. Right on cue, NVIDIA has launched its latest pair of powerhouse graphics cards, and as of right now, prospective Origin PC buyers can opt for either the GTX 470 or GTX 480 on the Genesis desktop. Better still, you can buy 'em in single, dual or triple SLI configurations, and in case you're down for paying the premium, a 4.4GHz overclocked Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU can sit alongside of it (or them).
Origin's Eon15 gaming laptop offers less bang, saves more buck
While some high-profile custom PC vendors are on their way out, Origin PC is just getting started. The company recently launched the Genesis, a desktop that melts gamers' faces at the same time it incinerates their wallets, and the Eon18, a laptop that... honestly does just the same. Come to think of it, flame seems to be a recurring theme for the company, but before you work yourself into a burning hot rage because of your inability to afford Origin product, consider the new Eon15. With only room for a single powerful mobile graphics chip and a single storage drive, it won't be setting new 3DMark or I/O benchmarks like its cousins, but it will let you get away with a 1080p screen, Core i7-820QM processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a GeForce GTX 285M and even a snazzy paint job for a merely painful, rather than excruciating, price. Configurations start at $1,900 -- hey, it's not like you were gonna be using those paychecks for anything else, right?
Alienware's Core i7-980X-infused Area-51 desktop gets reviewed, puts other rigs to shame
Surely you recall that snazzy new Alienware Area-51 desktop that popped up last week with Intel's flashy Core i7-980X Extreme Edition within, right? The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware have since put the stratospherically priced ($4,569 as tested) rig through its paces, and suffice it to say, there's hardly a machine on the planet that's faster than this rig today. Put simply, the test machine -- which was equipped with a pair of ATI Radeon HD 5970 cards -- bested every other gaming desktop they'd seen, with the only shortfall coming up in the HDD tests. Naturally, SSD-equipped rivals were a good bit faster there, but nothing's stopping you from swapping out those traditional platters and installing a bit of NAND yourself. Ah, why bother with the details -- if you're looking for "quite literally the fastest desktop PC on the earth," this can definitely be it with the right configuration. Hit that source link for the mind-boggling benchmarks and a hands-on video.
iBuyPower crams Core i7-980X Extreme Edition into Paladin desktop line
If you somehow held off on buying a Core i7 rig as soon as they popped out last year, you're in luck -- and your poor Pentium II system is flat out of it. Just about everyone has updated their gaming desktop lines this week with an option to splurge on Intel's 3.33GHz (or more) Core i7-980X Extreme Edition processor, and iBuyPower is no different. Said PC builder is now offering the chip within four of its Paladin desktops, and given that the stock clock speed is far too sluggish for your own greedy self, the Paladin XLC V3 ships in an overclocked configuration that promises a 30 percent boost in performance over the stock silicon. The rigs also ship with 6GB or 12GB of DDR3 memory, the latest and greatest ATI / NVIDIA graphics cards, an optional Blu-ray burner and a fresh copy of Windows 7. The lowest-end rig gets going at $2,159, while the aforesaid XLC V3 will set you back $4,409; the whole gang is available to customize as we speak. %Gallery-88589%
Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition hits a slew of new gaming desktops
Intel's six-core, twelve-threaded Core i7-980X Extreme Edition has turned the hardcore gaming community on its head, and just about everyone is scrounging around in a (mostly futile) attempt to locate $999. For those in dire need of an entire system replacement, it seems that today's the day to start looking. Shortly after we heard that this 32nm Gulftown chip would be landing with Alienware and Origin PC rigs, a veritable plethora of other outfits have shown up to make similar announcements. Digital Storm has popped an overclocked (4.4GHz) version into its Black|OPS machine (which conveniently starts at $5,642, while CyberPower is now offering the silicon in its Black Mamba, Black Pearl and Gamer Xtreme 3D machines. Maingear's also sliding said CPU into its world-beating Shift "supercomputer," and anyone shopping a high-end Velocity Micro system will also see the option. We suspect most every other PC maker in existence will be following suit soon, so if your prefab PC builder hasn't yet jumped on the bandwagon, just hold tight. Real tight.
Alienware sneaks Core i7-980X Extreme Edition into Area-51 ALX desktop
We heard at Intel's GDC press event that Alienware would be one of the first PC manufacturers to ship systems with the newest six-core consumer processor, but neither company's representatives would confess to "when." Now, we've our answer... sort of. Hot Hardware has received a shiny new Alienware Area-51 ALX, complete with twin ATI Radeon HD 5970 GPUs, a self-contained LED system that stays lit even when the rig is unplugged (could be a great or awful thing, actually) and Intel's Core i7-980X Extreme Edition to boot. We're told that a full review is on the way, but in the meanwhile, you can hit the source link for a few more looks at this here monster -- you know you'll be ordering one in a few days, anyway.
Origin PC offers overclocked 4.3GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition on Genesis desktop
You know what's better than a stock 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme Edition CPU? Not much, but we're guessing that a 4.3GHz overclocked version of the same chip just might be. If you're thinking the same, and you've got $1,044 to spare in order to find out, upstart gaming rig maker Origin PC has the means to get it to you. The outfit's Genesis desktop can now be ordered with Intel's freshest slab of silicon for $895, or you can snag an extra gigahertz for another $149. We know you'll make the right call.
Acer kicks out laptop, netbook upgrades aplenty at CeBIT
Acer has rolled into CeBIT with a few all-new systems, but it's also taken the opportunity to introduce some updates to its existing models, including six new revisions to its Aspire and TravelMate lines. Leading things off are the high(ish)-end Aspire 8942 and Aspire 5942, which pack 18.4 and 15.6-inch displays, your choice of the latest 2010 Core processors, an integrated TV tuner, up to 8GB of RAM, up to 1.2TB of storage (courtesy of to 640GB drives), and some niceties like a multitouch trackpad, and a CineSurround sound system with a "Tuba CineBass" booster. It's joined by the TravelMate 8372 Timeline series, which is itself available in 13.3-, 14-, and 15.6-inch varieties with Core i3, i5 and i7 processors, and the 15.6-inch Acer TravelMate 6594, which packs a Core i5 or i7 processor and ATI Radeon HD 5670 graphics. Rounding out the standard laptops are the 17.3-inch Acer TravelMate 7740 and 15.6-inch 5740, which come equipped with Core i3 or i5 processors, up to 8GB of RAM, and either integrated or ATI Radeon HD5470 graphics. As if that wasn't enough, Acer has also introduced the new 11.6-inch Aspire One 752 netbook, which actually packs a Celeron ULV processor instead of the usual Atom, and the Aspire Predator G7750 gaming PC, which finishes things off in a suitably over-the-top fashion with a Core i7 Extreme Edition processor, liquid cooling, dual LAN connectivity, swappable hard drive bays, and support for Acer's GD245HQ 3D monitor. Hit up the gallery below for a closer look at some of the offerings. %Gallery-87491% %Gallery-87413% %Gallery-87490%
Digital Storm Black Ops gaming rig is exactly what you expect
Sure, there might not be too many surprises with a completely customizable gaming rig called "Black Ops" from high-end manufacturer Digital Storm, but that doesn't make it any less impressive. This latest rig naturally adds the latest Core i7 processors as options, along with ATI 5970 graphics, and Digital Storm's own Sub-Zero Liquid Cooling System, which promises to handle your overclocked processors and graphics cards with ease. You'll also get your choice of four different, equally intimidating-looking chassis, and a fairly generous three-year warranty (even on overclocked machines). Prices obviously vary quite a bit depending on the configuration, but the standard "Extreme" rig will set you back $3,102.
Origin's Genesis gaming desktop gets reviewed: blisteringly fast, but oh-so-pricey
The latest high-fashion gaming outfit (known as Origin 'round these parts) has just started shipping its beastly Genesis out, and if you've ever wondered what five large could get you in the land of desktops, wonder no more. The crew over at Hot Hardware managed to procure a darn-near-loaded machine, complete with a Core i7-920 CPU (overclocked from the factory to 3.8GHz), 6GB of Corsair DDR3 RAM, twin ATI Radeon HD 5970 GPUs, a liquid cooling system, 80GB SSD boot drive and pretty much every other top-of-the-line component you could imagine. How'd it stand up to testing? Well. Really well. It crushed every benchmark that dared get in its way, and we're told that when pressed, the company's explanation of its warranty was truly best in class. What's interesting is that the MSRP of the test unit can be halved by simply opting for a few marginally weaker pieces, and we're guessing that the overall performance wouldn't suffer a huge deal. Hit the source link for all the bars, charts and in-depth analysis you can handle.
Maingear introduces F1X gaming desktops with overclocked Core i7 CPUs
It's no Shift, but Maingear's new line of F1X gaming rigs are still delightfully potent in their own right. Starting at $2,249 (F1X 200) and sailing well north of $5,149 for the top-end F1X 500, this trio of desktops runs on a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 and packs an 80GB SSD boot drive, an overclocked Intel Core i7 CPU and an optional Blu-ray burner. The big fellow touts a 3.6GHz OC'd Core i7-975, 12GB of DDR3 memory, a 1.5TB Western Digital storage drive, 6x Blu-ray writer, a closed-loop watercooling system, 1,000 watt power supply and twin ATI Radeon HD 5870 GPUs (1GB). The other guys step things down just a wee bit, but you can rest assured that today's latest games will be handled with ease should you snag any of 'em. Speaking of which -- they're only available from Tiger Direct, Circuit City (the website) and CompUSA, so don't waste your time looking elsewhere for a better deal. %Gallery-83555%
Refreshed CyberPower Black Mamba gaming rig: downright awesome (for rich people)
One might expect a smallish outfit like CyberPower to start the new year off with merely a fizzle, but the "bang" is firmly in place with this one. The company has just announced its refaced (and re-energized) Black Mamba gaming PC, complete with Intel's freshest Core i7 Extreme CPU, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, twin 64GB Kingston SSDs, 2TB of SATA II storage space, a pair of watercooled ATI Radeon 5870 GPUs, a 4x Lite-On Blu-ray drive and a 12-in-1 media reader for good measure. You'll also get a tweaked BIOS that gives you more flexibility when it comes to overclocking, and the bundled Razer input peripherals ensure that even your mouse and keyboard needs are addressed. Best of all, this pristine piece of gaming goodness can be ordered up right now -- problem is, you'll need a bare minimum of $3,800 to cover the cost of acquisition. But hey, that 2009 tax refund should cover that in just a few months, right? %Gallery-81344%
iBuyPower nabs exclusive rights to sell Thermaltake Level 10 pre-built systems
So, there are two nagging issues surrounding Thermaltake's awe-inspiring Level 10 enclosure. First, it's $850 and nearly impossible to find in stock; second, you best know how to piece together a full-blown rig yourself, 'cause you won't find this beast hanging around at infrequently visited corners of Dell or HP. Somehow or another, however, iBuyPower has managed to swoop in and remedy quandary number two. As of today, it's the exclusive provider of pre-built systems using this case, with base configurations boasting Intel's Core i7-920, a 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285, 6GB of DDR3 RAM, a 128GB SSD boot drive, 1TB of storage space and a Blu-ray drive. Feel free to spec this one out 'til your heart's content, but be mindful of that already-lofty $2,499 starting tag. %Gallery-79948%
Shuttle gears up for CES with 'we are not alien' campaign, ominous video
Shuttle isn't exactly a company known for aggressive marketing campaigns, but it looks to be changing its tune a bit in the lead up to CES, and it's not too hard to see who its target is. While the company's main website is still as bright and cheery as ever, the newly launched We Are Not AlienbWare.com is an entirely different tale, featuring an ominous teaser video that mixes Shuttle promos (and metaphors) in with footage from District 9. Of course, it is a teaser video, so it's light on any details, but Shuttle is apparently promising something fairly big for CES. Hit up the link below to check out the video for yourself, or if it's giving you fits, just hop on past the break and mash play.
iBuyPower lets out five liquid-cooled gaming desktops
It's never too early to start thinking about that desktop that you really, really need under the tree by the third week in December, and rather than waiting until the last moment and getting stuck with some random configuration and a lofty overnight shipping fee, iBuyPower is encouraging you to have a gander at the five new liquid-cooled rigs that it just unveiled at NewEgg. The low-end is propped up by the Gamer Extreme 922 SLC at just $989, while the spec'd-out Gamer Supreme 979SLC will set Santa back just under four large. At the top, you'll find luxuries such as Intel's Core i7 975, a Blu-ray drive, 128GB SSD and 1.5TB of HDD space, while lower-end systems snag the likes of a Core i7 860, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB HDD. Peek the via link below for a more robust look at the specifications, and feel free to get your order in now if you like resting easy.
iBUYPOWER's Chimera 2 Gaming System has flames on the outside, liquid cooling on the inside
Need a gaming rig but don't like aliens, dragons, or mystic healers? How do you feel about creatures that are themselves made up of the parts of other creatures? That's the mythological inspiration for iBUYPOWER's latest creation, the Chimera 2. It's a Core i7- or AMD Phenom II-packing, SSD storage-using, DDR3-memorizing powerhouse that's covered in a lovely flame job -- marred by a somewhat silly fanged head on the side. Prices start at a rather reachable $999 if you don't mind a (relatively) lowly Core i5 processor and Radeon HD 5750 graphics, but with a few tweaks you'll quickly quadruple that figure. Such is the way of the gaming rig, child: let thy finger not check too many options lest thy credit suffer the pains of thine exuberance.
