iBUYPOWER Introduces Three New Systems With ATI Radeon HD 5850 & 5870 Graphics Cards

The third system, the iBUYPOWER Gamer Mage 855, is for the gamer who wants the best AMD and ATI have to offer in their system. The Gamer Mage packs in the powerful ATI Radeon HD 5870, quad core Phenom II X4 965, speedy 4GB DDR3, and a spacious 1TB hard drive, all for under $1500.

Gamers looking to get the most out of their new systems can take advantage of the iBUYPOWER Labs’ new Power Drive Overclocking Service. iBUYPOWER offers three levels of service – up to 10%, up to 20% and up to 30% overclocking, ranging in price from only $19 for their “Level 1 Power Drive (up to 10% overclock)” to $49 and $99 for level 2 and 3 overclocking.

Cage Match: Four Open-Air ATX Chassis

The back rooms of PC shops and the most elite overclocking competitions generally don’t have much hardware in common, but perhaps the most similar component in both locations is the type of chassis chosen for motherboard testing: an open test bench, often with a phone book or empty box laid under the motherboard to allow the bottom tabs of graphics cards room to hang freely. Surely, a better way must exist.





Potentially more convenient chassis have been around for a long time, mostly in the form of metal frame structures that contain the parts that aren’t often changed, such as drives and power supplies, while easing access to the parts that are frequently changed, such as motherboards, RAM, processors, and expansion cards.


But perhaps that construction is going out of vogue. We even invited a well-known metal-frame type chassis manufacturer to participate, but were disappointed by the lack of response.


Our continued search revealed several options with more visual appeal. Today, we balance the design strengths and weaknesses of each model to determine its most appropriate market.

Dell Ships Gorgeous 16" Thin-And-Light Latitude Z For $2000

We thought Dell's Studio XPS 16 was fairly thin when we reviewed it earlier this month, but it would look downright chubby next to the company's latest 16" machine. What's easily the world's thinnest and lightest 16" laptop, the Latitude Z is aimed at business professionals who are looking to get ahead partially on the sexiness of the machine they carry in their briefcase.





Think we're kidding? Dell itself admits that this machine targets "impression makers, such as entrepreneurs, attorneys, creative professionals, salespeople and leading higher education faculty." Bold, no? It's essentially the planet's first 16" thin-and-light notebook, starting at just 4.5lbs. with a four-cell battery and measuring just 0.57" thin. Other specifications include a 1600x900 WLED display, a multi-touch touchpad, backlit keyboard, EdgeTouch (which allows users to interact with commonly used applications and media controls through a touch interface that is on the bezel of the system’s screen) and FaceAware lock-out technology that automatically locks out other users when a user steps away from the laptop.

Alienware Aurora ALX Gaming System

We know it can be difficult to keep up with all of the latest and greatest hardware. After months of saving up every spare penny, you finally have enough money for that new upgrade that you've been yearning for since its debut. All the reviews are in agreement and you have to own what many are calling the component of the year. Those who don't buy it run the risk of suffering from mediocre benchmark scores or unexceptional frame rates. While those who are able to make the purchase waste no time posting scores on countless tech forums and showing off their new hardware to friends at LAN parties.





Well folks, its that time once again. The release of ATI's Radeon HD 5870 graphics card has caused quite a stir in the hardware industry. While enthusiasts scramble to find the coin to upgrade their systems, Alienware is providing an all inclusive option for those in the market for an entire rig, loaded with some of the fastest parts available. Yesterday, Alienware announced the launch of five new configurations, consisting of all new Area 51, Aurora, and M15x gaming systems. Although each option brings something new to the table, we had the chance to check out the Aurora ALX featuring a Core i7 975 processor, X58 microATX motherboard, and two ATI Radeon HD 5870's in CrossFire. If you crave cutting edge technology, then you've come to the right place. Read on as we take a quick look at the Aurora ALX to see just how fast it really is...

Lenovo ThinkStation S20 Workstation

IBM has been a name synonymous with computers and technology for nearly 30 years. That point alone leaves little doubt as to why Lenovo moved to acquire IBM’s Personal Computing Division in 2004. When the acquisition was finalized in 2005, Lenovo instantly became a global PC leader. Over the past four years, Lenovo has worked hard to become a household name. With slick product lines, like the IdeaPad, ThinkPad and the IdeaCentre, that goal is gradually becoming a reality.



One place where Lenovo probably hasn’t had to work quite as hard at making inroads, is the corporate environment. As IBM began phasing out its products, its business customers found a natural replacement in Lenovo, especially since Lenovo basically just took over IBM’s product lines. Now, Lenovo is trying to innovate and take things further. IBM’s notebooks were known for being durable, solid performers, and from what we’ve seen, Lenovo has maintained that legacy. Additionally, IBM’s workstations were known for being excellent, no-frills powerhouses. In this product spotlight, we'll see if Lenovo is successfully carrying on that tradition as well.

AMD Athlon II X4 620

However, it was only a matter of time until the firm introduced triple- and quad-core processors that don't include any L3 cache—a perfect opportunity for a comeback of the Athlon brand. Welcome the Athlon II X4, follow-up to the Athlon II X2 launched back in June.



What It Has-

The new Athlon really isn’t new, although AMD introduces two fresh core names for it: Propus (for the quad-core family) and Rana (for the triple-core).


Athlon II X2 Dual Core...
Newegg.com $76.00
Directron $72.99

The first sample we received is a 2.6 GHz Propus blessed with all the features of the Phenom II, including its 45 nm SOI manufacturing process and four cores with 512KB L2 cache each. The chip also sports all of the extensions you’d want today: MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4a, Enhanced 3DNow!, the NX bit feature (or execute disable, on Intel CPUs), 64-bit support, AMD-V virtualization support, and Cool’n’Quiet to lower clock speeds and voltages during idle periods.


Since Propus is based on the Deneb design, all new Athlon II X3 and X4 processors can operate either on Socket AM2+ platforms with DDR2 memory or on Socket AM3 with DDR3. Clearly, the new processors represent an excellent upgrade option for older AM2 systems, especially if you consider the attractive $100 price point.

AMD Radeon HD 5850 DirectX 11 Graphics Card

Exactly one week ago today, AMD unleashed the ultra powerful, DirectX 11-ready ATI Radeon HD 5870 upon the PC gaming world and staked a claim as the undisputed 3D performance leader. Having evaluated the features, performance, and image quality of AMD's latest and greatest flagship we were left thoroughly impressed, not only with the new Radeon's killer performance, but its extensive feature set, excellent image quality, power consumption, and competitive price.




In our coverage of the official launch of the Radeon HD 5870, we also revealed AMD's plan to release a more affordable, pared-down version of the card, with a shorter PCB, lower core and memory frequencies, also sans a few stream processors and texture units, dubbed the Radeon HD 5850. Unfortunately, cards did not arrive in time to be tested alongside the 5870. The Radeon HD 5850 did arrive in the lab a few days later, however, and we jumped right on testing it.



We've got our evaluation of the $259 Radeon HD 5850 available on the proceeding pages. First up some specs and a quick refresher, then its onto the close ups, performance, and a little overclocking...