Tech news from around the web...

ASRock X58 Extreme 3 LGA1366 Motherboard
Often, I find myself just looking over a product for minutes on end before even looking over the documentation. I mean, who wants to look at that stuff? Anyway, while sitting here looking over a rather sharp motherboard, the word ASRock seemingly jumped out at me. It’s nice to occasionally be surprised when opening a product box. Let’s take a look at the ASRock X58 Extreme 3 motherboard and you’ll understand the happy confusion. futurelooks.com

Intel Core i5-655K Processor BX80616I5655K
Many years ago, overclocking was not limited by Intel/AMD like nowadays. As it is usual, when they see they can make extra money from the consumers by limiting their features to those who pay more, they don't hesitate to take advantage of that. In the last years, the Intel made it a little bit "impossible" for those who want to buy a CPU with unlocked multiplier. Intel was limiting that feature to the Extreme Edition CPUs. AMD took this as an opportunity to approach consumers with a feature their competition wouldn't give and so the AMD Black Edition CPUs appeared. AMD has been kindly enough to offer Black Edition products for each segment in the market, and that means you can find a BE (Black Edition) CPU for less than $100. benchmarkreviews.com

Sharkoon Silent Eagle SE 120mm & 80mm Fans
It isn't often that you see innovation in PC fans. Other than the occasional oddball sizes, fans are generally standardized in design. Seemingly answering the call, Sharkoon has created the Silent Eagle series of PC fans. Sharkoon has applied some clever ideas to their fans in hopes to differentiate them from the others on the market as well as increase performance. Today, HardwareLogic has the Silent Eagle 80mm and 120mm models up for review in order to determine if the innovation equals improvement. hardwarelogic.com

Vantec NexStar SATA to USB 3.0 Adapter
Why is USB 3.0 a big deal? Well to some it might not be... yet. It is rather new, so not many machines out there have it. If your machine doesn't have it, providing you have the room in your case, you can get an adapter card. USB 2.0 has a peak speed of 480MB/sec while USB 3.0 has a peak speed of 5Gb/sec. Those numbers speak for themselves. In this case Vantec revised their SATA to USB 2.0 adapter that connects to the back of a drive. ocia.net

OCZ Agility-2 SandForce-Driven SSD
OCZ Technology has once again brought cutting-edge high-speed SSDs into the value storage segment with their Agility 2 series. Based on the SandForce SF1200 controller, the OCZ Agility 2 SSD delivers up to 20,000 IOPS with incredible bandwidth speed. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 120GB OCZ Agility 2 Extended OCZSSD2-2AGTE120G against some of the fastest storage solutions on the market. Just when PCs were starting to seem irrelevant in this fast-paced world of mobile gadgets and smart phones, along comes a new product that changes the entire landscape. benchmarkreviews.com

Patriot Bolt 8GB Hardware Encrypted USB Flash Drive
Patriot's Bolt series of flash drives prove that file security doesn't have to come at a premium price. $25 for the 8GB model is easy on the wallet, and it performs just as well as any other flash drive out there and has a sleek look to boot. The AES 256-bit hardware encryption will keep your files safe in the event the drive gets lost or stolen, and the built-in software is straightforward and works great right out of the box. tweaknews.net

Cooler Master NotePal ErgoStand
You can walk out of Walmart with a bag of cat litter, a bottle of ketchup, and a serviceable dual-core notebook with ample hard drive space and still have only spent around $600. This has made hulking towers, and even mid-tower PCs, a less attractive option to the mainstream shopper who just wants to hop online and fire off a few Facebook updates, but this isn't without its drawbacks, namely heat and ergonomics.
burnedin.com

MSI GeForce GTX 460 1GB Cyclone Video Card
Our first GTX 460 review was of the MSI Cyclone 768MB. Straight away it showed us what the GTX 460 was going to be about; good power at an even better price. Once we had a look at that we then checked out some 1GB models. Unlike most cards, the 1GB model wasn't just more memory, but it increased the memory bus width while adding some more ROPs at the same time. tweaktown.com

Thermaltake ESports Challenger and Challenger Pro Keyboards
Today we are branching our range of Thermaltake reviews into the gaming sector with reviews of their latest Challenger and Challenger Pro Keyboards - these products are no run of the mill keyboards however as they are being used in the Finals of the World Cyber Games. This means they will be coming under some serious scrutiny by the gaming masses. Both keyboards are supplied with memory onboard to store macro configurations. kitguru.net

NZXT Phantom Case
NZXT has just announced the Phantom, a full-tower case with tons of exciting features that will reach the market in September with a suggested price of USD 140 in the USA. Let's see whether you should consider buying it or not. hardwaresecrets.com

MSI Big Bang XPower Intel X58 Motherboard
Micro Star International, better known as MSI, should need no introduction. They have been around for nearly 25 years building high quality motherboards, video cards, and other PC related products. Their motherboards rank right up there with the “household name” companies. Today I will be looking at MSI’s latest X58 motherboard, the Big Bang XPower. Sporting USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s, this board also has some construction features that probably make it the best-built X58 board on the market, and has all of the niceties found on MSI’s other Big Bang gaming boards. Will the XPower satisfy? ocia.net

GlacialTech Igloo 5760 CPU Cooler
GlacialTech have successfully build a very cheap, easy to install and good looking little CPU cooler; it is mostly intended for environments that do not imply overclocking. In the performed tests, however, even if on the package it was listed that the i5 750 CPU is supported with its stock 2.66GHz frequency, I could do 3.2GHz without problems at all and with decent temperatures too, in both IDLE and Full Load. madshrimps.be

Cooler Master Elite 430 Computer Case
Usually high-end cases are the ones that attract all the excitement, but the majority of people will be looking for a well-priced mid tower case like the Cooler Master Elite 430. Cooler Master's newest addition to the Elite series retains an identical interior build existing since the Elite 370, but gave it a unified paint job and new exterior shell on the RC-430-KWN1 model. The Elite 430 is small and light, yet maximizes interior space to fit even the longest graphic cards. This new release is aimed to be competitive among the mid tower market, Benchmark Reviews investigates whether the Cooler Master 430 succeeds or not. benchmarkreviews.com

Enermax TB Silence and Apollish Vegas Fans
Today we are going to look at several fans within new cooling ranges, from Enermax. The 120mm and 140mm TB Silence fans (UCTB12 and UCTB14) and a glitzy 140mm Apollish Vegas fan (UCAPV14A14-x). kitguru.net

Power Supplies With Fake 80 Plus Badges
It seems incredible, but there are some power supplies in the market carrying fake 80 Plus badges. Because we review lots of power supplies, we were already able to spot a few power supplies with fake 80 Plus claims. hardwaresecrets.com