Asus F1A75-V Pro

"An excellent motherboard for building a top-notch AMD Fusion-powered PC."

Asus F1A75-V Pro


For: Heat pipe cooling, excellent layout,
graphical UEFI BIOS, OC switch.
Against: Asus should have included a
USB 3.0 bracket.


Premium motherboards are built for those who don’t want to compromise on features and performance, and the Asus F1A75-V Pro is one of them. It’s built using high quality components and with attention
paid to the layout. The full ATX form factor gives a lot of head room for components and Asus has used it well. A shiny heatpipe connects the heatsinks for the voltage phases and the chipset. Unlike most vendors who have gone in with a 4+1 phase design, Asus has used a 6+2 phase design for efficient power delivery. This is backed by Asus’ Digi+ VRM, which uses two on-board processors – TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) and EPU (Energy Processing Unit). These chips optimize power delivery and overclocking as specified by the user. TPU and EPU can be toggled using switches near the memory slots. There are two PCIE x16 slots, two PCIE x1 slot and three PCI slots. The second PCIE x16 slot runs at 4x speed and you have the option to configure two graphics cards in CrossFireX. The SATA 6 Gb/s ports are oriented sideways so that they aren't obstructed by long graphics cards. However, with dual-slot graphics cards installed, you’ll have to sacrifice a PCIE x1 slot and a PCI slot. Four USB 2.0 headers supporting two ports each are lined up at the base and a USB 3.0 header is placed next to the first PCIE x16 slot. The rear panel looks elaborate, with multiple options for display connectivity, four USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, optical S/PDIF output and audio jacks for 7.1-channel setups. The performance is top notch, but it shines when you correctly use the TPU and EPU features for maximizing performance and overclocking. The board features a graphical UEFI BIOS, which makes it easy to navigate sections and change values. The BIOS has the easy mode for those who aren’t well-versed with the various parameters. If you’re planning to build a high-end HTPC or a gaming PC and budget is not a constraint, this board is one of the best options in the market.

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Lenovo IdeaCentre B320

"A powerful entertainment PC for living rooms and crammed desks."

Lenovo IdeaCentre B320

For: Good build, great performance, well priced.
Against: Discrete graphics should have been more powerful.

The rear panel can be opened for upgrading crucial
components such as the RAM and storage drives.

The IdeaCentre B320 can easily be mistaken for an LCD TV, and that’s exactly what Lenovo has tried to do. With great aesthetics it can seamlessly blend with the interiors of your living room, bedroom or kitchen. Despite its compact design, it doesn’t compromise on features or performance. The variant of B320 that we received from Lenovo packs powerful hardware suited for an entertainment PC. It is powered by the Intel Core i3-2100 CPU along with 3 GB of RAM and offers 1 TB of storage, which is common in mainstream desktop PCs. Although the CPU features an integrated GPU, Lenovo has gone a step ahead and added the AMD Radeon HD 6450 discrete GPU with 1 GB of dedicated memory.
                The IdeaCentre B320 boasts a large 21.5-inch full HD display, which is great for watching movies. A pair of stereo speakers is housed within the grille below the display and a full HD webcam is located at the top. On the right, the only component you’ll find is a tray-loading DVD-writer. Two USB ports, a card reader and jacks for headphone and mic are placed on the left side. Four additional USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, an Ethernet port and a PS/2 port are placed on the rear. The USB 3.0 port should have ideally been placed on the side to easily connect external USB 3.0 storage devices. The design of the B320 is brilliant. It looks sleek and doesn’t consume too much desk space. We also like the provision of removable back panel for upgrading or replacing the hard drive, optical drive and memory. The PC comes with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse whose design and color go well with the PC. The keyboard sports a brushed metal-like finish and has a standard layout. It has a good tactile feel, but the [Fn] key at the bottom left corner can be annoying. The optical mouse features an ambidextrous design and offers good grip due to the rubber finish on the sides. The keyboard and mouse both use two AA batteries. 
                 The IdeaCentre B320 scored 6403 points in PCMark Vantage and 803 points in 3DMark 11 (Entry mode). The time taken to encode a 1 minute MPEG video to H.264 format was 60 seconds. The Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 drive installed in the PC logged nearly 100 MB/sin sequential read and write tests. However, random read and write scores were quite average at around 50 MB/s. We tried running Crysis Warhead at 1920x1080 with minimal settings, but the Radeon HD 6450 GPU could only manage 23 fps. The speakers sound great thanks to SRS Premium Sound enhancement, which actually makes a big difference. A desktop PC with a similar configuration would definitely be cheaper, but here, you get everything in one package. It looks great and doesn’t occupy much space, making it a great option for small and crammed desks. This PC is an excellent option if you’re looking for a powerful panel PC for entertainment and casual gaming.


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Dual-GPU graphics card

XFX - Radeon HD 6990 dual-GPU graphics card

XFX has launched the XFX Radeon HD 6990 dual-GPU graphics card. This highpowered beast creates the ultimate in intense, immersive HD gaming with raw performance, 4 GB GDDR5 high-speed memory and an array of ground-breaking features. As the fastest graphics card in the XFX HD 6000 series the XFX Radeon HD 6990 makes full use of AMD’s multiple technologies including Eyefinity, EyeSpeed, PowerTune and AMD HD3D. The XFX Radeon HD 6990 graphics processor harnesses the power of dual GPUs to unleash flawless image quality and lightning speed performance. The HD 6990 GPU features advanced DirectX 11-capable architecture to enable seamless visuals, allowing the most demanding consumers to power through the most draining applications as well as tap into stunning video quality
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High-capacity hard drive

Western Digital -  High-capacity hard drive

WD is shipping the world’s largest capacity SATA hard drive. The new hard drive delivers up to a massive 3 terabytes (TB) of storage capacity by utilizing 750 GB-perplatter areal density and Advanced Format (AF) technology. WD Caviar Green drives are an eco-friendly storage solution with WD GreenPower Technology, reduces power consumption by enabling lower operating temperatures for increased reliability and decreases acoustical noise for quiet operation. The WD Caviar Green is designed for use as secondary external storage and next-generation PC storage in 64 bit-based systems. Drives with capacities in excess of 2.19 TB currently present barriers for PC hardware, firmware and software. WD is bundling its WD Caviar Green 3 TB hard drive with an Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI)-compliant Host Bus Adapter (HBA), which will enable the operating system to use a known driver with correct support for large capacity drives.

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Multimedia Tablet Device

VIEWSONIC - Multimedia Tablet Device

 ViewSonic has launched the ViewPad 10, the latest intelligent communications tablet incorporating full mobile phone functionality and computer and gaming capabilities. Users can surf the Internet, take and share photos, play games, listen to music, and connect with friends via the ViewPad tablet. The ViewPad 10 is powered by a 1.66GHz Intel processor and comes with integrated memory of 1GB and 16GB SSD storage space. Equipped with dual operating systems (OS), users can opt for the innovative Google Android OS for browsing and simple application or the familiar Windows 7 OS for VPN, Outlook and other high-end requirements. This high-performance but lightweight and stylish model offers the full PC experience when required. Its low battery

consumption feature also boosts mobility and efficiency.

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Colorful music player

SONY - Colorful music player

Sony has launched its E-Series Walkman in delightful colors like Gold, Red and Black. This Walkman delivers rich audio performance with clarity and precision and has an easy user interface. Consumers will be constantly entertained as the player offers up to 50 hours of audio and 10 hours of video playback time on a single charge. Scroll through music albums with large views of album artwork on its 2.0-inch QVGA screen. The Walkman also comes with a handy Bookmark function which lets users create, add to or edit up to five personalized playlists on the Walkman itself. Drag & Drop enables you to easily transfer data to and from your Walkman. Karaoke Mode which automatically reduces the volume of original performer’s vocals, allowing users to hear

the backing audio easily.

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Connected Media Hub

WESTERN DIGITAL - Connected Media Hub

Western Digital has introduced the WD TV Live Hub media center, a Full-HD 1080p media player with a 1 terabyte (TB) built-in network hard drive that gives users the freedom to play all their personal media on any screen in the home. WD TV Live Hub plays a wide variety of media file types, including popular Full-HD 1080p video formats such as MKV, MP4 and MOV. The integrated 1 TB hard drive enables users to centralize their digital media from multiple sources. Digital media can be easily transferred to the internal drive from shared folders on PCs and Macs on the network or directly from external hard drives, thumb drives, camcorders or cameras connected via one of the two USB ports. Users also can stream videos from home network drives with a DLNA/ UPnP server.

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The Perfect Mouse For Casual Gamers

Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 - The Perfect Mouse For Casual                        Gamers

The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 isn’t for the hardcore gunslinger. It’s more in tune with the casual Call of Duty player who is looking for better performance and features than he’d get out of a standard computer mouse. Its budget price tag makes it an easy choice for first-person shooter players on a budget, and gamers who may not appreciate why you would possibly want to spend $129.99 on a gaming mouse like the Razer Mamba (2012). And though its configuration software may look anemic to enthusiasts, beginners and everyday fans of first-person shooters (fps) will be perfectly satisfied. Undiscriminating against right- or lefthanded users, the G300 has a symmetrical, ambidextrous design. The top of the mouse has a grey matte finish that’s smooth under hand, and doesn’t attract stains or smudge marks. The sides have a black, rubberized coating to help you get a grip during long or intense gaming sessions. The G300 has nine programmable buttons in total: rightand left-click, scroll button, two just below the scroll wheel, and two on either side of   the left- and right-click buttons. The G300 feels light and hollow in-hand compared with other mice; I prefer a gaming mouse with a little more heft to it, so I don’t feel like I’m about to fling the mouse across the room at the slightest jerk. The G300 is wired, and while casual gamers may prefer to clear out the clutter and go for a wireless solution, you won’t be able to get a true 1,000Hz ultrapolling rate that will help keep your shots accurate and your connection stable. There is a plug-andplay functionality when you first connect the mouse to your PC, however, in order to take full advantage of the G300, you’ll want to download the configuration softfirst ware off Logitech’s site. The software is only available for Windows XP, Vista, and 7—no Mac support. The mouse does come with on-board memory, so you’ll be able to go to a foreign PC and play without having to download the software again—with all your pre-configured settings intact. The Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 is the perfect mouse for casual PC gamers to cut their teeth on. Its bare-bones configuration software keeps it simple for newbies and users who want to spend more time playing and less time tinkering. On top of all this is the low price, making the G300 a safe investment. If you want more customizable options in your mouse, however, check out the Gigabyte M8000Xtreme or Razer Mamba (2012).—Natalie Shoemaker

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Sleek entertainment notebooks

LENOVO - Sleek entertainment notebooks

Lenovo has introduced an all new range of trendy, stylish, premium multimedia notebooks. The Lenovo IdeaPad Y460 (14-inch) and Lenovo IdeaPad Y560 (15-inch) notebooks seamlessly transform into sleek home theatres or envious gaming devices at just the touch of a button! With robust functionality and superlative features, these notebooks offer top-of-the-line entertainment to satiate the burgeoning multimedia consumption of the discerning young Indian consumer. These sleek notebooks also have an artistic cover pattern. The notebooks are powered by Intel Core i5-450m processors and have inbuilt features like One Key Theater for super cinematic experience, awesome audio with JBL speakers and Dolby Headphone technology, Multi-touch touchpad for ease of use. These notebooks will be available at all leading Lenovo retail outlets and multibrand digital lifestyle retail chains.

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Pocket Travel Router

D-LINK - Pocket Travel Router

D-Link is now shipping the myPocket 3.5G HSDPA Router (DIR-457), which will allows users to securely connect to mobile broadband networks. The DIR-457 is a mobile, pocket-sized router that offers download speeds of up to 3.6Mbps when using an UMTS/HSDPA SIM card. The slim design of this router along with its built-in rechargeable battery provides users with portable convenience. It offers immediate 3G network access and sharing via Wi-Fi with up to 16 clients by simply pushing the "on" button at the top of the device. The myPocket Router is essentially designed for frequent travelers and for all those demanding high speed wireless internet connection anywhere, anytime. With so many different services and technologies dependent on the Internet, this little device allows users to create a wireless connection regardless of their location.
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