GamingTower
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Acer dips its toes into Ivy Bridge, refreshes two of its desktops with new processors
Now that the Ivy Bridge cat is out of the bag, you can expect to see a deluge of press releases from PC makers over the coming weeks, each of them saying that this computer or that is getting refreshed with Intel's latest processors. From Acer, at least, we expect multiple announcements: it's only ready to talk about a couple of desktops today, with news around laptops and Ultrabooks coming later. Right now, you can choose from several configurations of the Predator AG3620 gaming tower, with the top-shelf $1,200 model packing a 3.4 GHz Core i7 3770 CPU, NVIDIA GT630 graphics, 16GB of RAM and 2TB of storage space. On the budget end, the $799 Gateway D4860-UR14P will feature a 3.1 GHz Core i5 3450 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive. Both are available now -- you know, if you've been waiting for precisely this sort of thing.
Maingear says it will offer the AMD Radeon HD 7970 in its Shift, F131 and Vybe desktops
When AMD announced its latest flagship, the Radeon HD 7970, we knew it was fast and efficient (because reviewers said so!), but gamers were told they'd have to wait until the new year to try it themselves. Now, precisely on schedule, the card is available for purchase, and we're starting to hear word of systems that will be refreshed to include the 28nm card. Maingear just said that it will offer the 7970 inside its Shift and F131 desktops, followed by the Vybe at some later date. If you recall, the card has a 925MHz engine that can be overclocked to 1.1GHz, 2,048 stream processors and an unusual 384-bit memory bus serving 3GB of GDDR5 -- not to mention, it's capable of a mere 3W power draw in "long idle" mode. Need even more of a recap on how awesome this card is? Find the full PR after the break.
Thermaltake's Level 10 GT enclosure gets reviewed, deemed more practical than its predecessor
If you've never heard the words "form over function" used to describe a computer case, you must've missed Thermaltake's Level 10 last year. Sure, it made us do a double take with its BMW-designed, super modular chassis, but its 50-pound weight and $750 price made it an impractical choice for a sizable chunk of the enthusiast crowd. Almost a year later, The Tech Report has gotten its hands on its successor, the $270 Level 10 GT, and deemed it much more fit for real-world use. This time, the company decompartmentalized the 3.5-inch hard drive bays -- all while adding an extra 5.25-inch bay and making room for an external 2.5-incher. Nonetheless, the GT isn't without imperfections -- the reviewer found a few spots where the build quality was lacking. If you've had your eye on one of these, we highly recommend perusing the extremely thorough review at the source link.
Thermaltake Level 10 GT case polishes up a classic, available now for $280
The Thermaltake Level 10, arguably the sweetest-looking enclosure to ever hit the mass market, has managed to find a chassis worthy of being called its successor in the shape of the behemoth you see standing before you, the Level 10 GT. It softens the aggressively modular aesthetic of the original, but in exchange delivers a more performance-focused design, replete with three 200mm fans, air filters everywhere you look, a neat little window so you can peek inside your full-sized tower of doom, and enough space to fit the very largest of modern graphics cards. Thermaltake is asking for $280 on its online store and you can order one up today. Video awaits after the break, though we wouldn't skip out on the Flickr gallery below, either.
iBUYPOWER's Gamer Power 906 rig does Intel Quad-core for a bit over $700
Sure, there are endless desktop configurations out there and oodles of good deals, but we're still smitten with this particular setup from iBUYPOWER: the Gamer Power 906. Putting that name to good use, they've managed to toss together an Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 processor, NVIDIA 9600GT graphics with 1GB of RAM, a 500GB SATA hard drive and 4GB of system memory. There was even enough change left over for interior lighting -- and we all know about the direct correlation between ground effects for nerds and frags per minute. Available now for $710.[Via SlashGear]
HP's Firebird with VoodooDNA 802 / 803 now available starting at $1,799
We know it's a little easy to lose track of time with the world's craziest consumer electronics show steaming ahead, but today actually is January 9th. The meaning of that? HP's two Firebird gaming towers are go for purchase. Both the Firebird with VoodooDNA 802 and 803 are available for purchase right now, with starting prices pegged at $1,799 and $2,099, respectively. The primary difference between the stock configurations are the CPUs (a 2.66GHz Core 2 Quad versus 2.83GHz Core 2 Quad), the hard drives (2 x 250GB verses 2 x 320GB), the sound card (the 803 has a Creative X-Fi mini-PCI audio card) and the fact that the 803 comes packed with a slot-loading Blu-ray drive. Hit the read link to get your shopping on.
HP officially launches Firebird with Voodoo DNA
We figured it was destined for a CES release, and HP has confirmed that today's the day. The hotly anticipated Firebird with Voodoo DNA has been properly introduced to the world, and within it will come an Intel Core 2 Quad CPU, twin NVIDIA GeForce 9800S graphics cards in an SLI configuration, hot-swappable 320GB hard drives (two of 'em) and an advanced thermal management system to keep things cool, calm, collected and quiet. As we'd heard, the rig will be available starting on January 9th for as little as $1,799 directly from Voodoo, while those too frightened to hand over their credit card information online can hold tight 'til it hits select retailers (read: Best Buy, most likely) on February 1st. Have a look at Rahul Sood and team gloating ad nauseum over this thing just after the break.%Gallery-40673%[Via DesktopReview]
HP Firebird gaming towers with VoodooDNA to start at $1,799
It'd be a gross understatement to say that we weren't remarkably excited about the HP Firebird 803 when we caught wind of it last week, but now you can safely say that our emotions have settled down after hearing the price. Granted, the $1,799 starting figure for the Firebird 802 isn't totally unexpected -- after all, the Blackbird 002 went for upwards of three large -- but we still see the sticker as a touch high given the weaker innards and the lack of upgrade options. Those of you who vehemently disagree can certainly hand over your wallet starting on January 9th, or you can wait for the boxes to hit unnamed retail outlets in February.
HP Firebird 803 tower with VoodooDNA leaked!
We always loved us that Voodoo-designed HP Blackbird 002, but it was certainly a behemoth. Now it looks like the duo are going for a more realistic size -- and hopefully pricepoint -- with the all-new HP Firebird PC 803 that just fell in our lap, a gaming tower which flips the disc drive and most other components on their sides to save on space. The resulting kit seems to have more in common with gaming consoles than desktop PCs in terms of design, with very little configurability or expansion available, but the leaked specs are still quite palatable to the modern PC gamer: NVIDIA nForce 760i SLI chipset Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz processor 4GB of RAM Dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800S cards Two 320GB SATA drives Blu-ray 5-in-1 card reader 6 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 eSATA, 1 S/PDIF and 1 DVI dual-link Bluetooth 802.11n WiFi To save on space (and heat), the Firebird actually uses an external power supply, but we suppose the included wireless keyboard and mouse should help to make up for that clutter. As you've probably gleaned from the specs, those small form factor 9800S cards aren't going to be putting away the frame rates quite like the cutting edge cards from NVIDIA and AMD, and the seeming lack of expandability makes the (theoretical) up-front cost savings seem a bit less exciting, but for a certain type of gamer the Firebird could be a welcome respite from monstrous, unrealistic and just-as-quickly-outmoded performance towers.P.S.: Rahul's dubious rant about the boutique gaming industry -- which Voodoo still serves -- makes a lot more sense in this light. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]%Gallery-39990%
