Computer Zones

What's the difference between the N120 netbook and the N110? A little more horsepower but a little less battery life.

2009-06-15T19:56:00.000-07:00

Samsung is continuing its run at the netbook market with incremental tweaks to design and function, and that's where the N120, blood brother of the Samsung N110, comes in. You won't find anything revolutionary here, just some nice extras that give you a little more choice.

The first thing you'll notice upon opening the N120 is the mirrorlike reflection from the glossy 10.1-inch panel. While the N120's screen looks great under ideal lighting conditions indoors, you'll have to deal with annoying glare pretty much everywhere else. Cranking up the screen's brightness will mostly compensate for the problem, and once you get accustomed to the glossy finish, you'll find a crisp, good-looking screen.

On our test machine the default color settings were slightly red-shifted, but we easily remedied that with the bundled color-correction software. Once properly balanced, the colors were quite good; videos and still images looked well balanced and natural. Text was sharp too, and the 1024-by-600-pixel resolution is good enough for most computing tasks.

The N120's touchpad is also well made, sporting a virtual scroll bar along the right side to make screen navigation easier. You get only a single rocker button for both left- and right-clicking, however, so if you're used to feeling for a separate button instinctively, the N120 will take some getting used to.

If you've been put off by puny netbook keyboards and you want some extra room, note that the N120's keys are a little larger than those of the N110. To accommodate the bigger keys, the N120 is nearly a half inch wider than its predecessor, a fair trade-off for a bit more typing room. As nice as that is, though, the key layout is still almost as cramped as that of any other netbook.

You get some handy shortcut keys. One launches Samsung Magic Doctor, which can perform a full system diagnosis and restore. The Speed Manager button toggles between silent, normal, and speed mode so that you can adjust performance and battery power conservation. For globetrotters, the N120 even has a euro key.

Overall the N120 has nice fit and finish, sporting trim lines and a logical layout that's very similar to the N110's. Even with a slightly larger chassis, it doesn't have much room for a lot of extras. Still, the external ports--VGA-out, three USB ports, and microphone and headphone jacks--give you pretty much everything you'd want. The RAM slot is also readily accessible after you make a few turns of a Phillips screwdriver, and you can easily remove the battery by using two sliding latches. It's a handsome, functional netbook.

Though the N120 managed to earn generally higher benchmark scores than the N110, it still isn't a barn burner. The boost in performance comes mainly from the upgrade to DDR2 800 RAM. Everything else under the hood is essentially the same: It has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU, a 160GB hard drive, and an Intel 945 video chipset.

On the downside, the N120 uses a less powerful battery than the N110 does, and in testing its battery life was about 40 minutes shorter than that of the N110--even so, the N120's excellent 7 hours, 43 minutes of battery life is nothing short of awesome. In the end, the N120 locked in a total WorldBench 6 score of 35, versus the N110's 36.

The N120 carries a subwoofer for upgraded sound over the N110. While the dedicated low-end speaker does offer a bit of bass, audio distortion and clipping are still problematic, as it is with all but the most advanced portable computers. The built-in speakers are good for basic sound, but the subwoofer doesn't add much to the mix. Just use a good set of headphones, and you'll enjoy quality sound from the N120's sound chip.

Like the N110, the N120 comes with an excellent suite of software that features backup, restore, and network software that's easier to use than XP's interface. A clearly written, organized, and detailed user guide, also loaded onto the hard drive, describes everything from hardware functions to tips for using the included software. Samsung did really well here, and made the user experience much friendlier than most.

Samsung's N120 is a nice alternative to the N110 if you're willing to give up some battery power for a slightly roomier keyboard and small bumps in performance. The good news is that they cost the same ($439), so you won't pay a price for your choice. Whether you'll notice the snappier performance or miss the extra battery life more is up to you. If you want a solid netbook that looks good, works well, and does pretty much anything you ask it to without complaining, the N120 is a worthy choice for anyone seeking an ultracompact travel companion.
Get it : Samsung X360-34G 13.3-Inch Laptop (1.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 Centrino 2 Processor, 3 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, Vista Business)

HD Video Hits Desktops With Hardware, Software

2009-06-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

LifeSize Communications and Radvision are taking two different routes toward high-definition desktop videoconferencing, both aiming to bring more participants into the virtual room.

The quality of video meetings has taken great strides in the past few years with the advent of room-sized systems that deliver lifelike 1080p (1,080-pixel, progressive-scan) video on large flat screens and strategically placed sound. But rank-and-file employees who can't get to a video room, or get a seat in one, are often left with a lower quality experience if they try to participate from hotel rooms or cubicles.

On Monday, LifeSize introduced desktop software to complement its family of dedicated videoconferencing systems, while Radvision teamed up with Samsung Electronics to introduce a PC monitor that doubles as a high-definition screen for meetings.

The LifeSize Desktop application is designed for use on standard Windows XP and Vista systems, including laptops, particularly for employees who work at home or on the road, said Michael Helmbrecht, director of product management.

Most full-size laptops purchased in the past 18 to 24 months will have the power to run LifeSize Desktop, he said. The software is designed to have a relatively small impact on the processing power of the PC. Tests by LifeSize indicate the application will consume about 40 percent of a typical Intel Core 2 Duo-based system. That makes it possible to run the software alongside regular productivity applications without a major hit to performance, he said.

LifeSize Desktop can decode incoming video from a larger conferencing system at 720p and 30 frames per second. It can encode video of the user at 480p, also at 30 frames per second, to send upstream for viewing on full-size systems or other PCs. Depending on the quality setting that is used, the software can work with an Internet connection of between 128Kb per second (Kbps) and 2Mbps, and a user or administrator can set asymmetric limits on how much bandwidth the application can use upstream and downstream, Helmbrecht said.

The software was designed primarily to meet the demands of LifeSize customers, both large and small enterprises, that want to complement their existing videconferencing systems with something for workers on the road. But it can communicate with any standard videoconferencing system using the SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) standard, Helmbrecht said. LifeSize Desktop will be available in the third quarter, starting at US$199 per seat license, with packs of licenses ranging from one seat to 100 seats.

Radvision and Samsung bypassed the CPU power question altogether, while allowing users to integrate their desktop videconferencing systems with their PCs physically. The VC240 is a 24-inch Samsung high-definition PC monitor with a built-in DSP (digital signal processor) for videoconferencing. The unit also includes a built-in high-definition camera, speakers, and a microphone with echo cancellation.

The VC240 can work as a standard monitor until the user needs to join a videoconference, and then show the meeting either on the full screen or in a window, said Bob Romano, vice president of enterprise marketing at Radvision. Because of the built-in DSP, videoconferences don't drain the PC's processor. Alternatively, the unit can sit on the desk and operate as a standalone platform for video or audio conferencing.

Radvision is a longtime maker of IP (Internet Protocol) videoconferencing products that makes products such as gateways and MCUs (multi-conference units). Cisco Systems resells some Radvision MCUs. The VC240 is fully interoperable with Radvision's Scopia product line, so users can participate in meetings with colleagues in high-end video rooms, he said.

Romano compared the VC240 to standalone desktop videoconferencing units from competitors such as Tandberg and Polycom but said it will come in at just a fraction of the cost. The units should sell for less than $3,000, he said. The product will ship in volume in the third quarter of this year, Romano said.
Informatioan : Kensington 64343 MicroSaver DS Notebook Computer Lock with Keys (PC/Mac)

source : www.pcworld.com

Police say hacker stole phone time from AT&T, others

2009-06-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

IDG News Service - An Italian magistrate has issued an international arrest warrant for a Filipino hacker suspected of causing millions of dollars of losses to telecommunications multinationals, and Italian police have arrested five Pakistani nationals accused of exploiting the hacker's work to defraud the telecom companies, officials in the northern city of Brescia said Friday.

The Filipino hacker allegedly penetrated the IT systems belonging to customers of major telephone companies, including AT&T, to steal access codes for international phone calls that he then sold to the group of Italy-based Pakistanis who ran a network of public phone centers. Police declined to identify the hacker by name, saying only that he was a 27-year-old male living in the Philippines.

The Pakistanis offered cut-price calls to their clients by piggy-backing on the PBXs (private branch exchanges) of commercial companies in the United States, Australia and Europe, Italian officials said. The Filipino hacker allegedly sold the access codes that enabled users to take control of the exchanges at US$100 per code, and the codes were then sold on to other users, they said. Some of the illegal profits were allegedly sent to finance the activities of Islamist extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the officials said.

Police identified Zamir Mohammad, 40, the manager of a phone center in Brescia, as the principal buyer of the Filipino's allegedly illegally acquired access codes. Mohammad was responsible for exploiting the codes and selling them on to other telephone service operators in Italy and Spain, police said. On Friday the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment charging Mohammad ahmoud Nusier, 40, Paul Michael Kwan, 27, and Nancy Gomez, 24, all currently residing in the Philippines, with unauthorized computer access and wire fraud.

As well as making the arrests, police seized 10 phone centers Friday in northern and central Italy and raided 16 properties belonging to Pakistani and Moroccan nationals suspected of links to the telephone pirates.

The investigation began in May 2007 following a tip-off from the FBI that a group of hackers based in the Philippines had violated the IT security of major international phone companies. The group was allegedly headed by a Jordanian, Nusier Mahmoud, who was arrested at that time, Italian police said.

"Italy's antiterrorism police and the FBI are still investigating the group's activities in Spain and Switzerland," Brescia police spokeswoman Sara Del Rosario said in a telephone interview. During the five years the scam was operating, Mohammad allegedly sent some €400,000 (US$560,000) to an Islamic charity run by Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Del Rosario said. Khalifa, who was killed in Madagascar in 2007, was suspected, among other things, of funding the Abu Sayyaf group, an organization of Muslim extremists operating in the Philippines.

Many of the calls from the phone centers were made to conflict hotspots in the Middle East and Asia, Del Rosario said. "The stolen access codes offered the added advantage of anonymity to the callers, in violation of Italy's 2005 antiterrorism law," she said.

The biggest victim of the hackers was AT&T Corp., which estimated its losses to the organization since 2003 amounted to US$56 million, Brescia police said in a prepared statement. Other companies targeted by the group were not identified by name.

(Robert McMillan in San Francisco contributed to this report.)

Information : Linksys WPC300N Wireless-N Notebook Adapter

CES '09: Asus' 512GB SSD Laptop; World First

2009-02-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

by Tuan Nguyen

We had the chance to briefly talk to Asus tonight, prior to CES' full opening in the morning. One thing we learned from Asus is that the company is preparing to launch what it claims is the world's first 512 GB SSD ultra-portable.

The new laptop is dubbed the S121 and is an Atom based ultra-portable. The killer feature though, is clearly the capacity of its 512 GB SSD, which is significantly more than most mainstream SSD drives. Currently, laptops that have SSD options at the time of purchase, range from 60 GB to 128 GB--but 128 GB options are extremely expensive. However, avid users are able to find more affordable options online to upgrade their laptops after the fact.

Asus refused to reveal the manufacturer of the 512 GB SSD that's in the S121, but from what we know, Toshiba is currently the only company that has announced a 512 GB 2.5 inch SSD--which it too claimed, is a world's first.

Although we were excited, we had to ask Asus the price point of the S121. According to Asus, the new unit will be priced at $1649.

With a sweet price point, and monstrous SSD to boot, Asus is helping to push SSD drives mainstream. The key segment for SSDs to penetrate well is the mobility market. With unmatched durability and speed, laptops will embrace SSDs much more quickly than on the desktop. Hybrid SSD and HDD setups will be the mainstay for desktops for several years to come.
More Information news :ASUS Eee PC 4G Surf - Celeron M 353 / 630 MHz ULV - RAM 512 MB - HDD 4 GB SSD - WLAN : 802.11b/g - Linux - 7" Widescreen TFT 800 x 480 ( WVGA )

source : www.tomshardware.com

Asus' Mammoth 18.4" W90 Laptop Now Available

2009-02-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

by Devin Connors

Asus has broken the mold (and the scale) with its new W90 "laptop."

Asus has certainly broken the mold on this one, as the W90 is one of the first Asus machines to sport an 18.4-inch, full HD 1920 x 1200 screen.

Under the hood, the W90 has a X38 chipset, complimented by a 2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo T9600 which sports a 1066 MHz front side bus and six megabytes of cache. This combined with 6 GB of DDR2-800 memory and a 320 GB 7200rpm hard drive make the W90 quite the "mobile" powerhouse. What really stands out on the new offering is the graphics.

Asus includes an ATI 4870 X2 with 1 GB of GDDR5 memory, which is more than enough power for any game currently on the market. The 4870 X2 sports both VGA and HDMI outputs, with the HDMI offering a output for the onboard 7.1 soundcard. Speaking of sound, the W90 includes its own Altec Lansing 5.1 speaker system.

Many other laptop regulars also appear on the W90, including a fingerprint scanner, eSATA, Firewire, audio in/out, a 15-in-1 memory card reader, and four USB ports. For connectivity, it includes Bluetooth, wireless N, and a 2 megapixel camera. To power all this hardware, the W90 also includes a 12-cell battery. With a price tag of $2199.99, you get an above-average bang for your buck when considering what's in the chassis.

While the W90 may be portable, is it really a laptop? With a weight of 11.46 pounds and dimensions of 17.4-inches x 12.91-inches x 2.48-inches, the W90 isn't something you carry around at Starbucks or put on your lap while watching the news. If it wasn't for the backpack included with the laptop at purchase, finding a proper carrying solution for this behemoth would also be a challenge.

How does it compare to already large 17-inch notebooks in the same high performance category? The Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q706, which is large in its own right (16.2-inches x 12.0-inches x 2.5-inches and 9.04 pounds), is dwarfed by the W90, especially in terms of weight. And don't forget, the Q706 is no lightweight, either, with its own Core 2 Duo as well as dual Nvidia 9800GTS graphics cards.

If you know for a fact that your laptop won't be leaving your desk, the W90 is an attractive offer. But if you plan on doing any sort of traveling with it, the W90 is not a practical option, and you should consider a 17-inch option instead.
More information product : ASUS Eee PC 900HA 8.9-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, 10 GB Eee Storage, XP Home) Black

source : www.tomshardware.com

GeForce GTX 295

2009-02-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

You know, it's built for gamers ...

A couple of weeks ago we had the honor of bringing you guys a review on the GeForce GTX 295. And that article proved one thing, it's going to be welcomed into the high-end arena with open arms. It's impressive, it's fast, and heck it even looks good too.

Today however we are re-writing the preview, and will make a fully fledged review of it. For this full review we'll grab a BFG GeForce GTX 295. Everything we could not talk about will be covered and obviously, some additional benchmarks are now included, making this a new review on the GeForce GTX 295 final product.

It does not end there though because today we'll bring you yet another article, GeForce GTX 295 Quad-SLI, heck we just had to give that a try for the sake of it as well. So we took the fastest Core i7 platform money could buy us, made sure we had a 1200 Watt PSU in there and started testing Quad SLI. But again, that's covered in another article though. This one will be all about one single, yet dual-gpu based, GeForce GTX 295 versus it's competition.

And you know what guys? I'm excited as I love the high-end gear and the gaming that goes along with it. Also for this this review, we have received a new final driver, GeForce Forceware 181.20, and I'm happy to report that in several scenarios... it made the games roughly 10% faster than the preview we have shown you. Now though 10% might not sound like a lot, trust me... in the high-end game... it's pretty frickin significant.

Anyway, enough of the introduction, let's have a technical look at the product, look at power consumption, noise levels, temperatures, photos and obviously the performance it'll poop out on your monitor. And sure, we'll overclock it a little as well... You guys ready?

source : www.guru3d.com

GeForce GTX 295

2009-02-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today another review on that rather outstanding release based on the recently unleashed NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295. I say outstanding here, as besides the Radeon HD 4870 X2, not once has a dual-GPU product been launched and was received with such great enthusiasm. See, NVIDIA has got the driver right, the performance right and obviously... the price is right as the GTX 295 series is selling at less than 499 USD. And for a product with 480 Shader cores, that is just an awful lot of performance.

Many manufacturers and AIBs therefore are now selling the product, and even in times of financial difficulty, these babies sell like cute little puppies in a pet store. One of the biggest names in the tech industry is ASUSTek computers (ASUS), and they figured... well frock it... and jumped onto that GTX 295 band wagon as well. Armed with nearly 1800 MB of graphics memory and a lot of raw performance, we'll have a look at their offering today. And though the product is 100% reference based, we just had to review this version as well. Heck, we just like to talk about high-end graphics cards you know.

In this review we'll give you the grand overview on what the GeForce GTX 295 entails, we'll look at power consumption, heat, do a nice photo-shoot and obviously dig deep into game performance with the hottest titles currently available anno January 2009.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to the ASUS GeForce GTX 295 (ENGTX295) after which you should head on over to the next page. Come on... you can do it.

source : www.guru3d.com

GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB

2009-02-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

It certainly has been a long time since we reviewed a product or two from that NVIDIA AIB called Galaxy Technology. Certainly a somewhat smaller company, but each and every time we review one of their products, there's some sort of revelation going on.

Galaxy is good in brand recognition and most of all they are very stringent in product differentiation. Sure, they hog out standard products into the market as well, but their R&D is always working on something special, something a little out of the ordinary... and I know I've stated that many times, but it's the fun stuff we seek out in graphics cards so much.

Face it, most AIB's purchase their graphics cards, slap a sticker on it, insert a game and sell it. That's the reality for 90% of the current VGA graphics business. And that makes it a little bit of a dull business the past year or two. I feel a nicely designed graphics card is like good cuisine, tickling the senses and getting us excited. So this is where Galaxy technology comes in. Recently they refreshed their products a little and they asked If we'd be interested in reviewing some of them. The first being their new GeForce 9800 GTX+, released months ago, and in the mid-range segment, still one of my favorite cards. The 9800 GTX+ update was released back in July 2008 if memory serves me right, and entailed a newly created SKU with some higher clocks, note the GPU die-size has been shrunk to 55nm (which was 65nm). You guys can probably all remember the standard design right? The big black cooler, 11" PCB... a long but great value card.

Now then... have a look and see what Galaxy technology did with the card... that's something else isn't it? Custom PCB, custom cooling, custom bracket, HDMI output, black DVI+backplate... I sometimes wonder why a small company can consistently push out striking products like that and the bigger AIBs mainly focus on the reference design.

Most certainly this is a product we want to review, this is Guru3D stuff for sure. Over the next few pages we'll have a little chat about their 98000 GTX+ architecture, then dive into a photo-shoot, technology briefing and obviously a gaming test with the hottest gaming titles on the globe, next page please.

source : www.guru3d.com

GeForce GTX 260 SP216 Sonic

2009-02-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

One of the most interesting graphics your money can buy you right now is the GeForce GTX 260 series. These cards are virtually in the high-end segment, yet performance for money wise they are just astounding.

NVIDIA knows this, and as such ever since the release of the original GTX 260, there have been numerous internal updates to this product, to make it faster, more efficient and most of all cheaper. See, the GTX 260 opens up a truckload of performance and features. A couple of weeks ago NVIDIA launched another SKU based off that GTX 260; it was the Core 216 version, carrying an additional 24 shader processors, to give the card a little more bite.

* 192 cores on the GeForce GTX 260
* 216 cores on the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216
* 240 of them on the GeForce GTX 280.

Weeks after that GTX 206 Core 216 release (in December 2008) NVIDIA again changed this SKU a little bit, introducing a cheaper to manufacture 55nm version of the GTX 260 chip.

As a result you can purchase GTX 260 Core 216 version card now for 249 - 299 USD, and if you do a little research, there are often rebates going on, allowing prices of anywhere in-between 229 to 269 USD. Granted, it's still a lot of money to just play games, but I guarantee you the GTX 260 series offers incredible performance and features (next to the Radeon 4870) for the money, especially when you realize these cards were introduced with a 399 USD price tag in the summer of 2008.

After all of these changes in the product roadmap, we really didn't expect NVIDIA's board partners to change a lot about these boards, as they are already great, silent, efficient, and definitely fast. So, two weeks ago a press-release from Palit arrived in my inbox. They are releasing the GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Sonic edition graphics cards .. and after reading the specification I was like .. OMG could this product get any better?

With the Palit GeForce GTX 260 Sonic SP216 edition, we believe a GTX 260 graphics card can't get any better. Why? Get this; custom board design, 896MB GDDR3 memory, 216 Shader processor version, custom dual-fan cooler, custom higher clock frequencies and due to that cooler, immense overclocking capabilities.

Yea, we just caught your attention didn't we? Have a quick peak at the product, and then head on over to the next page, where we'll startup this in-depth review.

source : www.guru3d.com

HP W2207H

2009-02-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

by Greg Adler
This reasonably priced, full-featured LCD monitor has good physical adjustments and offers great image quality.

The 22-inch w2207h has all the features you could want in a good monitor. It comes through with great image quality, particularly with text, and it provides tilt, pivot, swivel, and height adjustments.

HP incorporated its Brightview glare panel in the w2207h, instead of using the chemically treated antiglare coating that appears on some of the company's other monitors, such as the the HP LP3065 and the the HP LP1965. This makes for a cleaner-looking image, but introduces more reflectivity as well.

The display, which has a native resolution of 1680 by 1050 pixels, comes with two side USB ports, plus HDMI and VGA inputs. HP doesn't bundle an adapter to connect the monitor's HDMI or VGA ports to the DVI connection that most PCs now use, though such adapters are inexpensive and readily available online. ? ? ?

The display sits in a thin (about 1-inch) glossy black bezel with rounded edges. Unfortunately, you can easily smudge the glossy finish with fingerprints when adjusting the display. Though the w2207h doesn't have a headphone jack, it does include a set of built-in speakers. Like most speakers built in to monitors, the HP's are weak in bass, resulting in flat, tinny audio. For soft background music or basic sound effects for games, however, the speakers are adequate.

HP includes MyDisplay software to help you perform simple monitor calibrations, and you can automatically rotate the screen when you pivot it. Overall, if this monitor finds its way into your home or office, you'll most likely be happy with it. Just be prepared to buy a DVI adapter!

source : www.pcworld.com

Samsung 245T

2009-02-20T17:04:00.000-08:00

by Greg Adler
This fully adjustable monitor has many inputs and good image quality--along with a hefty price tag.

Samsung's 245T is a great-looking, thin-bezel monitor that can swivel, tilt, pivot, and be adjusted for height.

he monitor's connectivity options include four USB ports, plus HDMI, VGA, DVI, composite, component, and S-Video ports. The only input missing is a Display Port connection, a linking technology that has gained popularity recently.

Despite the 245T's $649 price tag, you don't get a built-in Webcam or speakers; but the display does have a picture-in-picture option--a great feature to have, in view of all the input choices.

In our PC World Test Center evaluations, the monitor performed well, earning a score of Very Good. Nevertheless, it finished slightly below Samsung's own SyncMaster 2493HM (which has built-in speakers) in overall performance. The 245T's extra video inputs and USB ports (four versus the 2493HM's two) are the main differences between the two monitors. But those extras raise the 245T's price to about $150 more than the 2493HM's.

The 245T is best suited for users who need many connectivity options--because, say, they want to use it for PC work and TV/movie viewing. But the 245T costs about $100 more than Gateway's FHD2400, which has just as many inputs and received the same image-quality score.

source : www.pcworld.com

Samsung Syncmaster 244T

2009-02-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

by Roy Santos
Powerful graphics performance, bundled features, and an attractive design leave this well-balanced wide-screen LCD with few rivals.

Samsung impressed our test jury once again with its SyncMaster 244T. This wide-screen display collected enough performance points to push it to the high end of our Very Good range. It's also cool-looking , with a thin silver bezel. It sold for $1000 on 8/17/2006, an Average price at the time.

On our juried performance tests, text was razor sharp. Common office documents and Web pages were enticingly readable. Indeed, the SyncMaster 244T's scores in this section of our tests made it one of the crispest monitors we've seen to date. Furthermore, it showed impressive graphics reproduction. Consistently bright and vivid reds, yellows, and blues seemingly popped out of the monitor, wowing the judges. Flesh tones in photos of a racially mixed group portrait looked natural, avoiding the oversaturated or washed-out skin colors that some monitors reproduce. A nice balance of brightness and color settings gives the unit strength in many areas. Even in our difficult grayscale test, the LCD showed a wide range of distinguishable dark and light shades.

Video performance was excellent, in line with a monitor of this caliber. In our Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl DVD test scenes, the SyncMaster produced good skin tones. This was most pronounced in scenes that exhibited the main character's darker tan and the rest of the cast's lighter skin tones. The swaths of soldiers' red uniforms looked rich, though we found backgrounds and scenes in the dark slightly noisy. Ghosting is very minimal in action sequences--and more pronounced when the camera pans--but nothing out of the ordinary for LCDs.

Samsung includes a pleasing plethora of physical adjustments to accommodate a variety of users. A button behind the base locks down the monitor, preventing accidental height adjustments, although it also makes such adjustments harder. You have to stand up, push down on top of the bezel, and push the lock button to release it. Only then can you move the screen up and down. This is slightly awkward, especially compared with other monitors that merely slide vertically, like the Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP. The SyncMaster's pivoting--allowing portrait orientation of the wide screen--is a much easier affair, however, and certainly a welcome feature for those who view long vertical documents. The monitor includes software for the pivot feature, letting you rotate the bezel clockwise and then adjusting the orientation of your operating system's desktop to a vertical or portrait mode. The panel also swivels and tilts.

The bottom of the bezel is about 5.5 inches from the desk, one of the highest clearances of 23-to-24-inch monitors we've seen to date and a potential concern for shorter users. Desktop ergonomics prescribe a sitting position where one's eyes are level near the top of the monitor's bezel. The high clearance may push some users to a height where their feet are off the ground while sitting.

On-screen display adjustments are very extensive. In addition to having presets for brightness (what Samsung calls MagicBright), the monitor also gives color presets in the MagicColor Pro section of the on-screen controls. There, you can change hue, saturation, and gamma value, which is normally found in separately installed color correction applications. Among its many inputs, which includes both DVI-D and analog connections, Samsung also offers component, composite, and S-Video inputs to support the 244T's picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture features.

source : www.pcworld.com

Samsung Syncmaster 2493HM

2009-02-20T16:57:00.000-08:00

by Greg Adler

This display brings together good image quality, a multitude of connection options, and top-notch design.

The Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM looks great--and I'm not talking exclusively about the antiglare treatment or the crisp 1920-by-1200-pixel native resolution, which provides very good visual quality. The SyncMaster also sports sleek lines and a thin, glossy black bezel that stays relatively smudge free.

Getting the best picture out of the 2493HM is a breeze thanks to DVI, HDMI, and VGA connectivity. Will you use the two USB ports built into the neck of the base? Maybe not, but their positioning certainly makes for easy access.

On the audio front, the built-in down-firing speakers provide a wide range of sound that doesn't flatten out. You can crank the volume--but the louder it gets, the more distortion you hear. Want to rock in silence? Use the built-in headphone jack. But if you're looking for maximum sound quality, buying a separate set of speakers that has a subwoofer is your best bet.

The on-screen display menu does a superb job of marshaling options and streamlining navigation. You can adjust advanced features such as individual colors or use one of the many preset configurations. The buttons for the OSD menu are touch sensitive; though each button is clearly labeled, it's hard to see what it does, resulting in some usability frustrations.

The only other gripe I have with this display is that the contrast ratio (which clearly isn't 10,000:1, though it claims to be) and response time (5 ms) are engraved in the top right corner of the bezel. So much for subtlety. Samsung obviously put lots of TLC into designing this SyncMaster, but the constant visual reminder of the unit's response time seems tacky.

Still, this is a great monitor at an average price--and that's a winning combination.

source : www.pcworld.com

Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP

2009-02-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

by Greg Adler

Dell assembles a winning combination of good performance and great specifications including a memory card reader and display port connection.

The Dell UltraSharp 2408WFP is a well-designed, fully adjustable 24-inch monitor whose ports and features may justify its premium price.

Framing the display is a thin black bezel highlighted with silver accents on the top and the bottom. Dell includes video inputs for every possible connection: component, composite, Display Port, DVI (two ports), HDMI, S-Video, and VGA.

The monitor's on-screen display menu is clearly labeled and easy to navigate. Features include picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture, which displays two input sources side-by-side. This model comes with four USB ports--two on the back and two on the left side. Also on the left side, just above the USB ports, is a built-in reader for Compact Flash, MMC, MS, SD, and xD memory cards.

Dell bundles the UltraSharp 2408WFP with a CD containing drivers, a set-up guide, and a users' guide. Hardware extras include four connection cables for Display Port, DVI, USB, and VGA connectivity.

The images produced by this display resulted in a score of Very Good from our PC World lab. The UltraSharp 2408WFP's combination of good performance, input options, adjustability (it tilts, swivels, pivots, and can be adjusted for height), and excellent OSD make it the most full-featured and versatile monitor we've tested.

Regrettably (but understandably) this monitor's high-end performance, myriad features, and input selection come at high price. At about $700, it's one of the most expensive 24-inch displays we've seen.

source : www.pcworld.com

Gateway FHD2400

2009-02-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

by Greg Adler
This full-featured monitor offers loads of input and adjustment options--and for $50 extra, you can get great speakers, too.

Gateway pushes the versatility envelope with its 24-inch FHD2400 monitor. It combines good image quality, a slick design, a great on-screen display menu, and optional speakers that provide fantastic sound.

The FHD2400 has nearly every video input you could want in a 24-inch display: component, composite, DVI, HDMI, S-Video and VGA. The only port lacking is the new, up-and-coming Display Port connection. The on-screen display menu is incredibly well designed and intuitive, and it has the full range of adjustment options. You can control primary colors or use one of the many presets. The ease of navigation through the submenus is refreshing as well.

It's not all about video with this monitor, either; for an extra $50, you can obtain a detachable sound bar that produces amazingly clear sound. The speakers even have great bass, and I couldn't detect any distortion when I cranked up the volume--a rare virtue in built-in monitor speakers.

This display features four USB ports, a headphone jack, and a standard native resolution of 1920 by 1200. It's fully adjustable by tilt, pivot, and height, and a unique swivel permits 360-degree rotation.

Gateway's FHD2400 didn't outperform the competition in image quality, but it found a comfortable spot in the middle of the pack, resulting in a score of Very Good. The display cost about $550 at the time of this review, making it a great choice for anyone in the market for a well-designed, strong-performing 24-inch monitor. You won't be disappointed with this display's range of inputs or its adjustment options.

source : www.pcworld.com

Gateway MD7801u

2009-02-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

by Cisco Cheng

It's slightly misleading to call the Gateway MD7801u ($800 street) the budget version of the MC7803u, as they're both priced under $1,000—inexpensive for media center laptops. Their frames are beautifully designed, their features are ample, and their performance is more than satisfactory. The differences are subtle: The MC7803u has more bells and whistles, like a bigger glass screen, an illuminated keyboard, and a 3D graphics card. The MD7801u justified leaving those things out with a $200 lower price, so either one is a good choice.

Just like the MC7803u, the MD7801u is designed with a nod to automobile styling. The shiny black lid (or burgundy, if you prefer) is accented with a steel strip that runs down the middle—both classic and classy. The Acer Aspire 6930G-6723 and the Sony VAIO VGN-FW198UH have a basic design with unembellished glossy covers. Minor enhancements like illuminated logo and metallic trimmings go a long way in distinguishing a design. The HP HDX16t, for instance, uses an embedded pattern technique, while the Editors' Choice Dell Studio XPS 16 is one part aluminum, one part leather, and two parts lacquered top.

The MD7801u weighs 6.7 pounds, exactly one pound less than the MC7803u. The reason for the MD7801u's relative lightness is twofold: Its 15.6-inch widescreen is smaller than the MC7803u's 16-inch display, and the latter's edge-to-edge glass screen weighs it down, glass being significantly heavier than plastic. Although the MD7801u's screen lacks the clean look of glass, its brightness and size are perfect for multimedia enthusiasts. Its 1,366-by-768 resolution is the same as the MC7803u's and consistent with the 16:9 aspect ratio common in recent consumer HDTVs. If you're willing to spend a lot more money, the HP Pavilion HDX16t has a 1,920-by-1,080 (1080p) option for its screen, and the Dell Studio XPS16 sports an RGB LED widescreen, ideal for professional photographers.

The MD780lu lacks the illuminated keyboard of the MC7803u. This is by no means a deal breaker, but such a board comes in handy on a red-eye flight or in a poorly lit room. The full-size keyboard is very similar to the Dell 16's, in that the keys are packed close together and the grooves between the keys are less discernible than on the HP HDX16t or Acer 6930G. It doesn't have synthetic leather palm rests like the MC7803u, which is trivial. The mouse buttons, however, were a little too resistant for my taste.

In features, the MD7801u actually forgoes flash for substance. Its 500GB hard drive is a great deal at this price point, bigger than the drives of the MC7803u and the Acer 6930G (both 320GB). With the exception of a FireWire port, all the standard features are present, including four USB ports, a 6-in-1 card reader, the latest Intel Wi-Fi 802.11 draft-n chip, and ExpressCard slot. An HDMI port is hard to find on an $800 laptop these days, but the MD7801u sports one.

The MD7801u and MC7803u's processors are very similar in that they use last year's technologies. They cost less than the ones found on the Dell 16 and HP HDX16t; on the other hand, they don't perform as well. The 2.0-GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 processor in the MD7801u is significantly faster than the MC7803u's 2-GHz T5800 CPU and is more than adequate for the average user. When paired with 4GB of memory, it can tackle tasks from basic word processing to advanced video editing and image rendering. What it doesn't have is a discrete graphics card for hard-core games and 3D-intensive applications; the MD7801u uses Intel's integrated platform.

The MD7801u's performance scores were more impressive than those of the Acer 6930G and the MC7803u, specifically on the video-encoding, CineBench R10, and Photoshop CS4 tests. Its CineBench score beat the MC7803u's by a whopping 65 percent, and it was ahead on video encoding by 37 percent. The Acer 6930G is basically using the same components as the MC7803u's, but it managed to deliver better results, though it still trailed the MD7801u, by 6 percent video encoding and 3 percent on CineBench. I suspect the software load on the MC7803u might have caused the anomalies, but kudos to the MD7801u for outperforming the other two at this price point; the scores show that it is a good system for video editing.

3D performance is another story, as the MC7803u's ATI graphics card is better equipped to tackle games like Crysis and World in Conflict. The MD7801u's Intel integrated chipset is better suited to games like World of Warcraft and Internet-based games.

The downside of the MC7803u's 3D performance is that its ATI chipset and its higher thermal envelope hurt battery life. Its score on our MobileMark 2007 testing was 2 hours 47 minutes, fully 1.5 hours less than the UD7801u's 4:17.

The Gateway MD7801u removed some of the extras that made the MC7803u so attractive, including the illuminated keyboard, the glass screen, and a discrete graphics card. But in return you get a better processor and a bigger hard drive. The differences between them are minor; they're both excellent buys, and your decision may come down to how much you're willing to pay.

source : www.pcmag.com

Microsoft denies it profits from Vista-to-XP downgrades

2009-02-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Lawsuit names 100 'John Doe' defendants who 'aided and abetted' Microsoft

By Gregg Keizer

Microsoft Corp. has denied that it makes money when users "downgrade" Windows Vista to the older XP, as a lawsuit filed last week alleges.

The lawsuit, submitted to a Seattle federal court last Wednesday, stems from the $59.25 fee that a California woman was charged in mid-2008 when she bought a Lenovo laptop and downgraded from Vista to XP.

"Microsoft does not charge or receive any additional royalty if a customer exercises those [downgrade] rights," said Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster in an e-mail late last week. "Some customers may choose or need to obtain media or installation services from third parties to install the downgrade version."

In fact, it's computer makers, not Microsoft per se, who charge users the additional fees for downgrading a new PC from Vista to XP at the factory. Dell Inc., for example, adds an extra $20 to the price to downgrade a PC.

Microsoft, however, may profit from the way it structures downgrade rights. Only buyers of PCs with pre-installed editions of Vista Business and Vista Ultimate can downgrade, and then only to Windows XP Professional. All three editions are higher-priced versions of their respective lines, a fact that the lawsuit mentioned in passing.

"Customers have been forced to purchase the most expensive version of [Windows XP] in order to 'downgrade' from the Windows Vista operating system," the complaint read.

That was the cause of some confusion last year, when Dell Inc. was accused of gouging customers by charging $150 to downgrade a new computer to XP. Dell, however, countered that although it did charge $20 to install XP on the machine, as well as to cover the cost of the additional media, the bulk -- $120 of the $150 -- was the price of upgrading the PC from the standard Home Premium to the more expensive Business edition.

Microsoft does not offer downgrade rights with its Vista Home Premium, the most popular of Vista's editions.

"Microsoft mandates that customers who want to downgrade to XP must purchase the license to Vista Business or Vista Ultimate," said Dell spokesman David Frink last December. "[That's] typically about a $130 premium, though some retail outlets charge more."

"Downgrade" describes the Windows licensing rights that Microsoft gives users, who are allowed under some circumstances to replace newer versions of Windows with an older edition without having to pay for another license. The practice became popular last year when users, unhappy with Vista's performance on the new PCs they bought, instead sought ways to run the leaner XP.

The lawsuit, filed by Los Angeles resident Emma Alvarado, charged Microsoft with multiple violations of Washington state's unfair business practices and consumer protection laws through its policy of barring computer makers from continuing to offer XP on new PCs after Vista's early-2007 launch. She claimed Microsoft's practice resulted in customers paying more for XP than they otherwise would. "They have been forced to pay substantially more to acquire the Windows XP operating system than they would have to pay in a competitive marketplace," the suit said.

Alvarado also named 100 "John Doe" co-defendants. "[They] are the persons, firms and corporations who have participated with Microsoft in the wrongdoings complained of and performed acts and made statements in furtherance thereof," the lawsuit read. "The Doe Defendants acts as co-conspirators and aided and abetted, or participated with, Microsoft in the commission of wrongful acts."

Bowermaster claimed that Microsoft had no downgrade program as such. "Microsoft does not have a downgrade program. It does offer downgrade rights as part of some Windows Vista licenses, including Windows Vista Business purchased through the OEM channel." That, however, belies the fact that Microsoft has regularly offered downgrade rights to users. When it released Windows XP in 2001, it allowed people who had XP licenses to downgrade to Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 98, according to Gartner analyst Michael Silver.

Alvarado is seeking compensatory damages and wants the case declared a class-action suit.

source : www.computerworld.com

Apricorn Aegis Vault

2009-02-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

Apricorn's Aegis Vault encrypted hard drive sports a convenient built-in USB cable.

Recently we looked at eight different encrypted portable drives, and Apricorn's Aegis Vault landed in the middle, in fourth place.

Take the company's Aegis Bio (our second-place choice) and remove its fingerprint reader, and you have the Aegis Vault ($260 for 500GB). The two models are virtually identical, but in this case you must submit a password to unlock the drive.

In many respects the Aegis Vault is a decent, slightly pricier duplicate of Seagate's Maxtor BlackArmor (our Best Buy pick) and its basic features, but with a convenient built-in USB cable.
More information product : 320GB Password Protected 128BIT Aes Hardware Encrypted

source : www.pcworld.com

Data Locker 250GB Pro AES Edition

2009-02-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

The touch-screen controls on the Data Locker Pro encrypted drive look like a gimmick, but they make common tasks far easier.

In our recent look at eight encrypted portable drives, we considered several models that require Windows for log-in, setup, and maintenance. If you want to use an encrypted drive on several computers with different OSs, you need a way to enter a password through something other than Windows software. That's where the Data Locker Pro AES ($340 for 320GB) and its touch-screen LCD come in.

The Data Locker gives you a numeric keypad for entering a six-digit passcode that lets the drive mount in an operating system. You can also use the LCD screen to change the passcode, dismount the drive, toggle the encryption on or off, or wipe the drive clean. One annoyance, however, is the loud beeping that it emits when you press the screen (and you can't turn the sound off).

The Data Locker's relatively high price factors in the cost of the additional hardware, but the touch screen is definitely slick, and this drive is worth considering if you need to move sensitive data between machines.

source : www.pcworld.com

LaCie D2 Safe

2009-02-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

The solid, relatively inexpensive d2 Safe is one of the few encrypted hard drives suitable for both Macs and PCs.

The LaCie d2 Safe ($350 for 1TB) was third among eight encrypted portable drives that we recently looked at.

This hefty drive features a fingerprint reader and can connect to your computer over FireWire 400 and 800 in addition to USB 2.0. I found LaCie's software setup more time-consuming than some others, but it has an obvious benefit: LaCie's built-in fingerprint software allows you to plug the drive into either a Mac OS system or a Windows box and to work in the encrypted partition. The drive also features the sturdiest housing I've seen, plus a Kensington lock port so you can secure it to a desk.

source : www.pcworld.com

Lenovo USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive

2009-02-07T16:26:00.000-08:00

Lenovo's cool, capable, and encrypted data-sharing device will appeal to business users and techies alike.

Recently we tested eight encrypted portable drives, all of which are capable of keeping your data private. Some, however, are dependent on a Windows tool for log-in and setup.

In contrast, Lenovo's cryptodrive ($220 for 320GB)--like the Data Locker Pro AES Edition, which we also considered--takes advantage of a numeric keypad on the drive housing, so it can work with multiple operating systems. Interestingly, this drive's housing more closely resembles a burglar-alarm panel. Pressing and holding numerical combinations allows you to change the password or modify other settings, without having to run software. This model produces no sound when you press a key, which is better than the obnoxiously loud Data Locker--but unlike that competing product, it offers no visual feedback that you have pressed a key, either.

The drive demands a lot of power to do its thing, so the box includes a second cable that you're supposed to plug into a second, free USB port and then feed into the drive's power port.

source : www.pcworld.com

Maxtor Blackarmor External 320GB Hard Drive

2009-02-07T16:22:00.000-08:00

The BlackArmor encrypted hard drive is tops for its intuitive out-of-the-box experience, good utilities bundle, and reasonable price.

The Seagate Maxtor BlackArmor ($135 for 320GB) is a marvel of simplicity. It's the first external hard drive with full-disk encryption--the encryption chip resides on the hard drive's circuitry. According to Seagate, all of the data is encrypted on the drive, so even if someone removes the drive from the housing and takes away the chip set, the data is inaccessible. When you first attach the BlackArmor to a Windows PC, the drive loads a read-only partition with the setup software. Initializing the drive and setting a password takes only a minute, after which the drive loads the encrypted partition and Windows shows it as a drive letter. Thereafter, every time you plug in the drive, the autorun settings will ask you to enter the password.

The BlackArmor also features a Secure Erase option (which overwrites data areas of the drive with zeroes), as well as a backup utility.

In our recent look at encrypted portable drives, we chose this model as our Best Buy for its value--it offers one of the best cost-per-gigabyte rates we've seen--as well as for its simplicity and its full-disk-encryption security.

source : www.pcworld.com

IGP GA-MA790GP-DS4H Motherboard

2009-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

- GIGABYTE Announces Ultimate IGP GA-MA790GP-DS4H Motherboard -
- Featuring DDR3 Side Port Memory and Outstanding Overclocking Performance

Taipei, Taiwan, August 6, 2008 – GIGABYTE UNITED INC., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards today announce the launch of the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H, further cementing GIGABYTE’s leadership position for the AMD AM2+ platform by enabling a new generation of motherboards which push the boundaries of integrated graphics performance and overclocking potential.

Based on the newly released AMD 790GX chipset with onboard ATI Radeon™ HD 3300 graphics core, the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H features 128MB of onboard DDR3 1333MHz SidePort Memory, allowing dedicated memory access for the integrated graphics for an added boost of up to 10~15% in graphics performance. In combination with the SidePort Memory, the onboard graphics is able to be overclocked above 1000MHz, allowing users to maximize their graphics performance and achieve 3DMARK06 scores of 2800+* and beyond.

In addition to supporting DirectX 10, Shader Model 4.0 and OpenGL2.0 3D gaming technology through its ATI Radeon™ HD 3300 IGP, the GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-DS4H provides a PCI-E 2.0 x16 to support the ground breaking ATI Hybrid Graphics technology, allowing users to combine the power of their integrated ATI Radeon® HD 3300 graphics core by adding an additional discrete graphics card. Also, it provides an additional PCI-E 2.0 x16 graphics interface to support ATI CrossfireX™ technology, running x8 and x8 bandwidth, for enhanced productivity and gaming performance.

source : http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/News/Motherboard/News_List.aspx?NewsID=1407

X58 Series Motherboards

2009-02-02T19:01:00.000-08:00

- GIGABYTE Unwraps Latest X58 Series Motherboards for the Intel® Core i7 Processors -
-- The Next Leap in Computing Evolution is Here

Taipei, Taiwan, October 31, 2008 – GIGABYTE, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards today is pleased to announce their upcoming high performance X58 Series motherboards, the GA-EX58-EXTREME and GA-EX58-UD5 designed from the ground up to unleash the awesome power of Intel’s new Core i7 processors. Equipped with a host of new features including the new QPI interface, 3 channel DDR3 support, 3 Way SLI™ and CrossFireX™ support, Ultra Durable 3 technology and the industry’s most extensive range of overclocking features, the GIGABYTE X58 Series is bringing excitement back into the high performance motherboard industry.

The GIGABYTE X58 Series was designed specifically to take advantage of the raw power of the next generation Intel® Core i7 processors and the Intel® X58 Express chipset, whose new evolution in computing architecture is able to deliver an amazing performance break through from past processor generations. Replacing the Front Side Bus is the new Quick Path Interconnect, or QPI, whose 25.6 GB/sec transfer rate (double the bandwidth of the 1600MHz FSB) eliminates the communication bottleneck between the processor and chipset.

The Intel® Core i7 processors also feature an integrated memory controller inside the processor die and support 192bit 3-channel DDR3 memory that delivers a 50% memory bandwidth enhancement and lower memory latency for incredibly fast memory access. Additionally, the GIGABYTE X58 Series features Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, which is able to power down idle processor cores and dynamically reroute the power to the active cores for significant performance boosts, and at the same time, maintain greater energy efficiency.

For more information about the GIGABYTE X58 Series motherboards, please visit: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Default.aspx

Radeon™ HD 4800

2009-02-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

-- GIGABYTE Unveils the Power of HD with Radeon™ HD 4800 Series Graphics Accelerators --The next generation GDDR 5 memory inside for cinematic gaming experience

Taipei, Taiwan, June 25, 2008 –GIGABYTE UNITED INC., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards today is pleased to announce their latest GV-R4800 series graphics cards. The GV-R487-512H-B and GV-R485-512H-B are built on the highly anticipated ATI Radeon™ HD 4800 Series GPU ─ which utilizes second generation 55nm manufacturing process and GDDR 5 video memory architecture. It delivers best-in-class performance with new clock speed and break-through efficiency power management for tomorrow’s demanding applications. Additionally, the GIGABYTE GV-R487-512H-B and GV-R485-512H-B feature a wide range of the latest graphics technologies, including TeraScale graphics engine, CrossFireX™, UVD 2 and PowerPlay™, to prepare gamers for bandwidth-hungry games, incredible HD fidelity and 3D applications.

GIGABYTE GV-R487-512H-B and GV-R485-512H-B come equipped with ATI's latest TeraScale graphics engine, combining 1 teraFLOPS of GPU compute power, 800 stream processors and next generation GDDR5 memory to increase the physical gaming interaction for a more dynamic and realistic experience. In addition, with enhanced anti-aliasing (AA) and anisotropic filtering, the GV-R475-512H-B and GV-R485-512H-B create striking graphics with unparalleled realism so you can max out the settings of the most demanding next generation games or revitalize your favorite titles. Also, the GIGABYTE GV-R4800 series are provided with DirectX 10.1 graphics capabilities to support Shader Model 4.1 for life-like realism 3D gaming effects.

Benefiting from Avivo™ HD video and display technology, the GV-R487-512H-B and GV-R485-512H-B fully support even most processing-intensive content for HDTV and HD video enthusiasts, universal connectivity to TVs and displays, and HDMI with 7.1 digital surround audio. Take full advantage of Blu-ray functionality with dual-stream, picture in picture (PIP) capabilities and one-cable HDMI™ connectivity solution to high definition home theaters.

For more details of GIGABYTE GV-R487-512H-B and GV-R485-512H-B, please visit the GIGABYTE VGA website: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Default.aspx