What’s going on in the world of ThinkComputers
Jun 30th, 2009 by Colin Dean
ThinkComputers published last Thursday its 1000th review (Thrustmaster T.16000M Joystick). Hooray!
Bob published review number one six years and four days earlier (Flexiglow Lazer Beam Kits).
Thanks to our readers and sponsors!
Mar 11th, 2009 by Bob Buskirk
Well if you haven’t noticed we have moved over to the Intel Core i7 platform! The new Core i7 processors from Intel really knock the socks off anything that is out there right now! We have quite a few reviews that are based on the new Core i7 and X58 platform….
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 Processor (Review)
Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58 Motherboard (Review)
ASUS P6T Intel X58 LGA 1366 Motherboard (Review)
ASRock X58 SuperComputer Intel X58 Motherboard (Review)
Kingston HyperX T1 Series DDR3-2000 3GB Triple Channel Memory Kit (Review)
Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler w/LGA 1366 Installation Kit (Review)
Now that we have this new setup expect to see more X58 motherboard reviews, triple channel memory kit reviews, and LGA 1366 compatible CPU cooler reviews!
Mar 9th, 2009 by Bob Buskirk
Feb 4th, 2009 by Bob Buskirk
Well today I was going through some of the photos and video I took at CES and I came upon this clip. Right before Digital Experience I was taking some video and the guys from Techware Labs decided to make their own video! Here is what came out, good times!
Jan 26th, 2009 by Bob Buskirk
CES 2009: Shuttle
CES 2009: iBUYPOWER
CES 2009: Moneual Labs
CES 2009: Intel’s Imaging Software
CES 2009: Cooler Master
CES 2009: Microsoft
CES 2009: CyberPower
CES 2009: SanDisk
CES 2009: Lexar/Crucial
CES 2009: Antec
CES 2009: ASUS
CES 2009: Sands Expo
CES 2009: Thermaltake
CES 2009: SilverStone
CES 2009: Creative
CES 2009: Razer
CES 2009: Westinghouse
CES 2009: MSI Notebooks
CES 2009: The Booth Babes
CES 2009: OCZ Technology
CES 2009: BFG Tech Phobos System
CES 2009: Lunch at Pieros
CES 2009: Showstoppers
CES 2009: Digital Experience
Hope everyone enjoyed the coverage!
Jan 19th, 2009 by Bob Buskirk
Every year at CES I make it a point to make it to the Tiger Direct PC Race for Charity. Mainly because it is good to do something for charity and it has some of the best food out of all of the press events during CES. The PC Race is a PC building competition where members of the press all compete to see who can build a computer the fastest. The winner gets $10,000 to the charity of their choice and the computer they build as goes to that charity. Even if you get last place in the race the computer you build still goes to your charity so you are helping a charity out even if you lose.
The PC’s are already half way built with the motherboard, CPU, CPU cooler and power supply already installed. All you have to do is install the hard drives, optical drives, memory, video card, sound card, etc. The thing that makes it hard is that you have to follow guidelines like 4 screws per hard drive etc. If you miss a screw you get penalized. So you really have to read the directions and concentrate on what you are doing.
I have competed in the PC Race before but this year I decided to let Colin do the race. The PC race is usually the first night of CES and by that time I’m completely exhausted and I just want to relax and get some food. So Colin went ahead and did the race for ThinkComputers and did well placing 4th with a time of 6:37. Here are some pictures from the event.
Jan 13th, 2009 by Colin Dean
I had the majesty of attending the XtremeSystems OC party at the company’s Las Vegas headquarters. AMD was a major sponsor of the party, as was Cooler Master, Thermaltake, Gigabyte, Intel, and DFI.
At the party, a group of guys conducted the fastest overclock of an AMD processor ever: 6,300 MHz—6.3 GHz—on a newly released, high-end Phenom II 940. Their overclocked system achieved a score of more than 45,000 on 3DMark05, a world record.
They used liquid helium to cool the cores to near -240 °C—33 degrees above absolute zero Kelvin (-470 °F). At their hottest point, the cores reached -218 °C.
The food was great—barbeque pork from Memphis BBQ catering.
Here are some pictures from the event. Not pictured is myself, the winner of a DFI 790GX motherboard, Thermaltake V9 chassis, and Phenom II 940 processor. Behold, the merits of having the slowest processor of all of the folks in attendance.
Look for a review of the first and third in that list within the next week from Frank Stroupe, and a review of the second from me within a few weeks.
P.S. Is an X2 6000+ really that slow? Ha ha.
That's really cold!
The overclockers
The overclockers with a better view of the helium tank
The paper towels were frozen to the motherboard afterward.
The tank as it
A close up of the block.
Jan 8th, 2009 by Colin Dean
Colin Dean and Tom Dickson at Lunch@Piero's CES 2009
I met the Tom Dickson at Piero’s. He’s a really, really cool guy.
Did you know that Blendtec’s viral marketing has increased sales 700%? Millions of people have watched the more than 50 web videos made by the blender maker’s CEO.
Did you know that the blade in the Blendtec blender can spin at up to 270 miles per hour? Crazy!
He also blended a rake–check back for the video this evening!
Dec 22nd, 2008 by Colin Dean
I’ll be covering CES again this year with Bob. Jack is joining us, too! It’s shaping up to be a very, very busy weekend filled with all kinds of gizmos, gadgets, camaraderie, and networking.
Last year was my first year at CES. I packed a lot of technology in my CES press backpack to get me through the day. I carried with me a 14″ Lenovo Thinkpad T61p loaded with Ubuntu 7.10 and Windows Vista Professional. I didn’t even load Vista once the entire event! I used the T61p throughout the week, while jumping on my recently acquired OLPC XO occasionally to see if there were any other XO owners in the area, and to send the occasional picture from its built-in camera.
My phone, an LG VX8300, was indispensable despite being a simple flip phone. Its camera came in handy many times when I wanted to show my friends and family back home just what I was seeing as I was seeing it. I also used a Canon Powershot A710IS digital camera for high-quality still pictures and video. Lastly, I carried with me a small, unbranded MP3 player with a microphone which I used as as voice recorder.
This year, I’m quite a bit more high-tech.
Lenovo saw fit to loan ThinkComputers a Thinkpad X300 running Ubuntu 8.10 (with Windows Vista) for my main computer for the weekend. I’ll probably have the OLPC XO with me, as well, but it will be running a special, XO-customized version of Ubuntu 8.10. I’ll still be using my Canon Powershot A710IS, as it’s still a very high quality camera. Although its video is not high definition, it’s perfect quality for video sites such as Youtube or Revver.
I’ll also be bringing with me a pair of Black and Decker portable batteries. These things can supply 16W of power for approximately three hours, or 20W for a few minutes. That 16W is sufficient for my batteries and phone charger.
The largest change in my gadgetry line up will be my phone. This year, I’m toting a T-Mobile G1 with Google Android. It’s the latest “new hotness” in the smartphone market. I’ve already downloaded a voice recorder application from the Android Market–the equivalent to the iPhone App Store–and am looking forward to an update which should be available by the end of the month but hopefully before CES which will enable the stereo audio Bluetooth profile (A2DP) and video recording. This phone is already shaping up to be my next “favorite device” with its WiFi connectivity, GPS and compass module, and 3G (which I’ll actually be able to use in Las Vegas–Pittsburgh doesn’t have 3G yet). Accompanying it will be my Jaybird JB-200 Bluetooth stereo headset which I reviewed in October for BIOS LEVEL.
I’m very excited to be going to Las Vegas for CES 2009!
Dec 15th, 2008 by Bob Buskirk
