The event showcased gaming rigs complete with multiple display setup (5 monitors tilted vertically to be exact) and a racing wheel controller with a racing game running greeted the guests as they enter the place. The event was attended by members of the media, bloggers and gamers. Being known for supporting the local gaming talents, also present at the event is the gaming groups Aguilas and Mineski.

There were also two gaming rigs which has simpler setup compared to the first one mentioned. Upon registering at the booth, the guests were encouraged to join the Street Fighter tournament and were told that exciting prizes awaits the winner.

The centerpiece showcased a group of shiny PowerColor graphics cards all lined up and standing tall in front of it spectators.

The event was kicked-off by Mr. Sonny Sy, AMD National Sales Manager by explaining some keynotes regarding the video cards at hand.

He mentioned that one of the key advantages of the Radeon-powered cards is that it’s the first to utilize the 28nm graphics chip technology which is not only built for high-performance but also power-efficiency.

Apart from the industry standards like support for DirectX 11, he also mentioned that the HD7000 series cards is equipped with the Eye-Finity 2.0 which enables it to support multiple display in 3D.

According to him, the 7000 series doesn’t stop at providing high-quality display for gaming. He said that this series is also imbued with “App Acceleration” technology which boosts the display performance when using one of the 200 support applications such as MS Office and Adobe applications just to name a few.

He also mentioned by passing that this June they plan on bundling 2 games (Dirt 3 and another one that slipped my mind) and for a limited time licensed copy of WinZip with their 7800 and 7900 series graphics card.

To further explain some of the more complex features of the graphics card, Mr. Peter Villarosa the Product manager of PowerColor has graced us with his short presentation.

While he was discussing some of the main features of the product we also showed some slides placing the PowerColor video cards’ performance side-by-side against their direct competitor NVidia.

Capping off the event was the contract signing between Mineski and PowerColor solidifying their partnership and the announcement of the tournament winner. The tournament winner brought home a brand-spanking new PowerColor HD7870 graphics cards.
It was indeed a very special night for everyone. We’re looking forward to their next event and hopefully win on their raffle. You can find out more about their products by visiting their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PowercolorPH.

Local PC chain store PC Express has posted the availability of the Intel Core i5-3450. These chips now runs on the new 22nm technology.

The processor has 4 cores and 4 threads and runs at the base clock speed of 3.1GHz (6MB Smart Cache) but can Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz. Maximum TDP is 77 watts. The chip has an embedded GPU, an Intel HD Graphics 2500.

PC Express is selling the i5-3450 for Php8,750.

NVIDIA made sure that their new creation will be a whole lot better than its predecessor in almost all aspects, like twice as better. They were able to achieve this by simply and ingeniously slapping two Kepler GPU chips (same GPU chip used in the GTX 680) into an aluminum trivalent chromium body that seems to have come out of Tony Stark’s lab.

Following the same principle applied to the GTX 680, the GTX 690 is the product of NVIDIA’s vision of creating a dual-core video card that has superior performance and power efficiency. The result, a sleek looking graphics card that is capable of powerful performance and stunning display with that of two GTX 680s in SLI but with lesser power consumption. I can just imagine, having two of these in an SLI configuration (drooling).

Here’s a quick look of the GeForce GTX 690 specs:
CUDA Cores 3072
Base Clock 915 MHz
Boost Clock 1019 MHz
Memory Configuration 4GB / 512-bit GDDR5
Memory Speed 6.0 Gbps
Power Connectors 8-pin + 8-pin
TDP 300W
Outputs 3x DL-DVI
Mini-DisplayPort 1.2
Bus Interface PCI Express 3.0

But as we all know, with great power comes with greater heat generation. GTX 690’s body is not only as stunning as the graphics that it produces, it is also design to disperse as much heat as possible through a pair custom vapor chamber heat sinks and an axial fan placed in the middle of the action. The card’s body is also equipped with ducted airflow channels that improves acoustic quality and eliminates turbulence. These vents help the card to emit lesser noise even at full speed.

The specific model is a 4-bay storage server called the WD Sentinel DX4000.

It’s actually a pretty small and compact device which is mostly occupied by the 4 large drive bays. When fully loaded, the server increases its weight from 20lbs to double that because of the HDD.

The Sentinel DX4000 isn’t one of those dumb storage solutions that you plug into the USB port of your PC at home. The device is actually a fully functional PC with Windows Storage Server installed and running on a nettop configuration.

WD Sentinel DX4000 specs:
Intel Atom D525 1.8GHz dual-core
2GB DDR3 RAM
4 x 2TB drive bays
2 x Gigabit LAN
2 x USB 3.0 ports
Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials

As for connectivity, you can choose between hooking it up to your network via one of the Gigabit LAN or the USB 3.0 port. We’re also thinking WiFi might also be an option but it may not be efficient when transferring large volume of files in the network.

The system is pretty easy to set up — feels like plug-and-play. Aside from the pre-installed HDDs that has the server operating system, you can just plug in and pull out storage anytime you like.

Our test unit already has two 2TB had disk drives in it but there are two more slots available for expansion. Depending on your configuration, you can do a Raid 1 or a Raid5 on the drives.

The power button is up front with the two-liner LED panel and additional LED indicators for each of the HDDs. The NAS is very robust that you can basically pull out or insert any hard drive at any time (of course, not all of them).

Once connected to the network, you are able to stream content from the NAS or use t to make back-ups of up to 25 connected devices. This is also the first time I’ve seen MS Windows Storage Server running on a NAS so I’m not really quite familiar with it.

Redundancy is something that WD takes seriously with the Sentinel — aside from the dual Gigabit LAN ports and dual USB 2.0 ports, there’s also two power supplies, just in case one conks out (the second power cord is optional though).

The WD Sentinel works pretty simple although the initialization took some time to work out during my first boot up. Nevertheless, it’s practically plug-and-play and works flawlessly right out of the box. It’s not your typical NAS but you get DLNA support and Active Directory right off the bat. We’re still unsure how much each of these will cost you but we’ll update this entry once we get the details.

These new GPUs utilizes the same 28nm design as Intel’s 3rd generation processors which make it not only powerful but also power efficient. Having used a laptop (HP DV6t-6000) with a 1GB Radeon HD 6770M, the feature I really like the most about it is its ability to switch from discrete graphics to on-board graphics when it detects that I am running on battery and vice versa. This same technology, coined AMD Enduro, is retained on the new Radeon GPUs.

Watch this video on YouTube.

The new mobile AMD Radeon GPUs, code-named London, and its AMD Enduro Technology is said to be compatible with AMD’s E-series and A-Series processors as well as the recently announced Intel Ivy Bridge. This coupled with the latest processors should equate to powerful yet power-efficient laptops.

These are not your ordinary HDDs. The Velociraptor series spins much faster at 10k rpm (revolutions per minute) compared to the normal 5.4k rpm. They also come with longer warranty — up to 5 years.

Aside from that, the new WD Velociraptor comes with a number of features:

Super speed – SATA 6 Gb/s interface and 64 MB cache optimize the 10,000 RPM WD VelociRaptor.

Higher capacity – WD VelociRaptor SATA hard drives employ Advanced Format Technology to achieve capacities up to 1 TB.
Rock-solid reliability – Designed and manufactured to workstation standards to deliver stellar reliability in high workload environments.

Ultra-cool operation – Consumes less idle power and uses similar active power as the previous generation WD VelociRaptor while offering greater capacity and performance.

Rotary Acceleration Feed Forward (RAFF) – Optimizes operation and performance when the drives are used in vibration-prone, multi-drive chassis.

NoTouch ramp load technology – The recording head never touches the disk media ensuring significantly less wear to the recording head and media as well as better drive protection when in transit.

Suggested retail priceof WD VelociRaptor 1TB is Php13,795, the 500GB version is Php9, 295 and the 250GB version is Php7,195.

Just like the other Cedar Trail netbooks we featured here before, they now include an HDMI port and full 1080p video playback capabilities.

Asus Eee PC 1025 specs:
10.1″ LED display @ 1024×600 pixels
Intel Atom Cedar Trail N2800 1.86GHz dual-core
1GB DDR3 RAM (max 2GB)
320GB HDD
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 3.0
3 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x HDMI port
1 x LAN port
Card Reader
6-cell Li-Ion battery 5200mAh or 56W/h
1.25kg
Genuine Windows 7 Starter

The suggested retail price is Php16,990 and is now available in stores.

To give you an overview, the iButterfly is a fun and entertaining mobile information and couponing platform that tasks its users with catching augmented reality butterflies , each representing one or more coupons. It was previously created by Japan’s Mobile Art Lab and has been successfully launched in Japan, Hongkong, Indonesia, and Singapore.

The iButterfly uses 3 technologies: Augmented Reality for seeing butterflies in the real world, Motion Sensors for catching butterflies using a phone and Global Positioning System (GPS) for finding butterflies at a location.

It is definitely a unique and engaging way to enjoy promos and discounts with your tablet and smartphone with the Android platform, and IOS on Easter.

To join the Easter iButterfly Hunt, just follow these easy steps:

• DOWNLOAD – Using your gadget simply connect to the internet via data connection or Wi-Fi and go to the App store (for iOS) or Google Play (for Android). Download and save the iButtefly application.

• CATCH – While connected, access the iButterfly application and start catching augmented virtual butterflies.

• REDEEM – Claim your free items by merely following the instructions as seen on the iButterfly and present it to the participating Cyberzone stores.

The fun starts this Easter on all SM Cyberzone across the country. For more information please visit our website: www.smcyberzone.com and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smcyberzone

Disclosure: Sm Cyberzone is a partner and advertiser on this blog.

The Fnatic MSI 7H Edition comes in a black and bright-orange color combination which makes it look more eye candy. However, I am concerned that the colored ear pads might wear off or get dirty easily.

The solid, matte-black exterior is made up of hard plastic and the orange ear pads are made of soft fabric. I still prefer the leather cover on the Siberia V2 series though.

SteelSeries 7HV2 FnaticMSI

Fortunately, SteelSeries also included an extra ear pads for replacement (a black one). The audio cable is about 2 meters long, has 3.5mm plugs for the mic and input (separately) and plugs to the headphone via a microUSB tip.

Around the middle of the braided cord, there’s a remote for volume control and mute. The bands are also very flexible that you can twist them liberally without much strain. The ear cups also rotates at 90-degrees so you can easily listen on one without actually wearing the headphones properly.

As for comfort level, the Fnatic 7H series is pretty comfortable. Been using it for hours on end with only slight discomfort and warming of the ears. The pads aren’t that deep so you’ll often rub the fabric against the outer lobe of the ears that creates some of the friction.

Like the one on the Siberia V2 series, I liked the pull-out microphone on the left side. Loved the idea that you can actually dismantle the headphones into 4 separate parts when you want to stow them away.

As for sound quality, the headphones offer an impressive balance. Sounds are very clear, crisp and can pump enough bass when needed. The noise-cancelling is pretty effective and very useful when playing games.

SteelSeries Fnatic Headphones:
Frequency response: 18 – 28.000 Hz
Impedance: 32 Ohm
SPL@ 1kHz, 1 Vrms: 112 dB
Cable length: 1 + 2 = 3 m (9,8 ft.)
Jacks: 3,5 mm
Microphone
Frequency response: 50 – 16.000 Hz
Pick up pattern: Uni-directional
Sensitivity: -38 dB

Forgot to ask the distributor how much this headphone will sell for locally but the online store puts the price at €114.99.

This model of the APC Battery Backup has a relatively high capacity with 865 watts or 1500VA.

This is actually the first time I’ve ever used a UPS of this size and capacity. First, it supports up to 10 plugged devices simultaneously and can be hooked via the local network for remote management and control.

In a home or small office setting, you can basically plug in your desktop PC, a printer, a scanner, speakers and sub, fax, and a desk lamp and still be able to last probably up to 30 minutes when there’s a brown-out. That should give you enough time to finish all your work and shut down the PC.

Schneider Electric promises an 88.0% efficiency at full load. The actual batteries are actually removable from the huge chassis (probably for future replacement or repairs). I haven’t really tested how long the battery will last if disconnected from the main power but I saw the box indicated around 35 minutes of power.

Up at the front, there’s a small LED panel that shows the status of the battery (charging status, charge time, etc.).

The suggested retail price of the Back-UPS Pro 1500 is Php25,000. It’s not that very consumer affordable but if you’re in a location that occasionally suffers from brown-outs, this could be a viable solution to look into.