Dubbed one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, Battlefield 3 saw pre-orders galore and when it finally arrived, a lot of consumers were sadly let down by their systems, with the intense game needing a lot more juice than first expected.

This gave graphics card manufacturers the chance to revamp a card, add new features or even just bundle in the game for good measure.

The Radeon 6950 is classed as one of the best bang for buck cards on the market, giving a good balance of performance while keeping a few pennies in the bank at the same time. Due to this, it instantly became a hit with consumers and they flocked out to buy them in abundance.

Today we have a Radeon HD 6950 from our good friends at Club3D. It may look standard, but it is basically identical to their patented CoolStream card, but comes with Battlefield 3 included. CoolStream is the cooling technology behind Club3D’s graphics cards, and as we’ve seen in other reviews of their cards, it really is a great cooling solution, so we’re eager to see how this card performs.

While Gigabyte isn’t known much on the case market, looking at their site actually reveals quite a large number of offers, to which they add the latest product; the LUXO X10.

Aimed at gamers, Gigabyte wanted to strike at first sight, with a minimalism modern appearance; the combination of black and red giving it a sophisticated air along an air of freshness with the side panel LED lights.

Although it does in fact present a great style, looks isn’t all there is to this case, as a matter of fact, Gigabyte has gone for a not so unique design, but less diffused all the same. As a matter of fact, access is gained from the right side panel, meaning that the motherboard is now upside down.

Accepting both Micro ATX and ATX format, according to Gigabyte the right side installation provides more than one advantage, one of which being that adjusting the 5.25” devices makes more room for long VGA cards, thus improving the visual enjoyments of gamers and enthusiast alike. Another feature is the shortened distance between PSU and the motherboard and CPU connectors, to which the original left side installation can find itself restricted due to cable length. Aside from the installations side, another feature includes four 5.25” external drive bays and four 3.5” internal drive bays, all equipped with clip-lock and lever mechanism.

Being a gamer oriented case, cooling was an essential part of the case, at which point the case divides into two different versions, one featuring six fans and the other three. The six fan version features two side panel fans, one front, one rear and one top, while the three fans features one rear and two top while the side panel is TAC 2.0. One characteristic we found on both though are dust filters, great feature to avoid those dust bunnies.

The front I/O situated at the top for easier access presents the SuperSpeed USB 3.0, although it also presents slight differences between versions, with the six fans version offering two USB 3.0 along with HD Audio and AC97, while the other only features one USB 2.0 instead of a second USB 3.0.

Some more in-depth information about the LUXO X10 and it’s different versions:

As for price and availability, nothing was mentioned, although we expect to hear more soon.

For more information, please refer to the official product page.

Source: Press Release

The Taiwanese manufacturer BenQ has just announced two new models of monitors aimed at the gamers, more specifically the FPS gamers; the XL2420T and the XL2420TX.

Both 24” LED-backlit with a resolution of 1920×1080, they support Nvidia’s latest 3D Vision 2 technology on a 120Hz refresh rate and a response time of 2ms on gray-to-gray. As for the brightness and contrast, they both feature 350 cd/m2 and 1,000:1 respectively.

As you can see, they both feature some great specs for gaming, the stand is also worth noting, with a great design as well as the usual height, horizontal and vertical adjustment features.

Moreover, BenQ’s own eQualizer colour engine technology is incorporated to brighten up the dark areas without over-exposing the rest of the screen.

Along the Display mode is the Smart Scaling function that will enable the user to change their monitor view from 17″ (4:3), 19″ (4:3), 19″W (16:9), 21.5″ (16:9), 22″W (16:10), 23″W (16:9) to 24″W (16:9), as well as two special FPS modes tuned specifically for Counter-Strike 1.6 and Counter-Strike Source. Additionally, the user can change the FPS modes for different games through the Game Mode Loader, an online service for storing game presets.

Included with both models is the company’s S-switch remote control that allows the user to change the display settings and modes. Only difference between the XL2420T and the XL2420TX is that the X version comes incorporated with the IR receiver and a pair of 3D glasses.

Neither the price, nor the release date have been announced, but pre-order prices have been seen to reach as low as €314 (around $430 or £270) for the XL2420T.

Source

Not only were a few gamers running the blast from the past CRT’s but one particular setup caught our eye as many others included an anchient based system too.

The one that caught our eye though, was branding an Alienware system, known for their extreme price tag, but they clearly didn’t have any funds left over for a new monitor.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Not only is an area devoted to gaming and extreme LAN action, but also a small exhibition area where some of the top brands and retailers on the market are able to showcase their latest products, as well as talking directly to the consumer public.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It doesn’t however do this in a sneaky way it clearly states: ““ IF YOU DO NOT WANT EA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, TRANSMIT OR DISPLAY THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE APPLICATION.” so EA aren’t trying to trick users here but what they are doing is stating if you want to use Battlefield 3 you must essentially surrender the privacy of your computer and its contents to EA.

To read more see here.

The card boasts a whole host of features and claims to be the world’s fastest, most powerful graphics card, with a 22% increase on speed of a reference GeForce GTX 590, 600% greater airflow meaning 20% drop in temps over reference cards, ASUS DirectCU II technology means the GPU is cooled directly with all-copper pipes and a heatsink base, also bundled is an exclusive ASUS GPU Tweak utility allowing users control over clock speeds, voltages and fan speeds, ASUS has also incorporated a Turbo Fan button on the card itself, allowing users to instantly switch the fans to 100% speed, oh and not forgetting the aluminium etched collectors edition card stating your unique card edition number.

Asus have also brought in their 21 phase super alloy power technology providing a 15% boost in performance, ensuring stable wattage and prevention of power loss, also resisting heat and material fatigue.

Product overview:

• Dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 580 GPUs with 512 CUDA cores each and 3GB GDDR5 video memory for 22% faster than reference performance
• Laser-carved aluminium plate identifies each card individually as a limited-edition item
• Twin 120mm fans for up to 600% greater air flow
• DirectCU II all-copper thermal design — 20% cooler than reference
• GPU Tweak interface opens up extensive overclocking and tuning possibilities
• Turbo Fan button instantly activates 100% fan speed
• Solid aluminium shroud improves heat dissipation
• Extra stable 21-phase Super Alloy Power architecture for incredible overclocking headroom — 15% performance boost, 2.5 times longer lifespan and 35°C cooler operation
• Custom PCI-E anti-shock sustainer keeps the card securely in place at all times

Gigabyte’s move is aiming to increase its competitiveness against the company’s major competitor Asustek Computer, which already launched its gaming motherboard product line, Republic of Gamers (ROG), in 2006.

At CES 2011, Gigabyte will launch several Intel P67- and H67-based motherboards including P67M-D2 and P67A-UD3 that feature solid capacitors and the company’s exclusively designed power management software as well as support for USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps.

In addition to Asustek and Gigabyte, ASRock is also set to announce its gaming motherboard product line, the Fatality, with the first product featuring Intel’s P67 platform and priced at NT$9,000 (US$309.65).

Source: DigiTimes