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You know things are changing when cooling units that could once stave off overheating on top-tier graphics cards are starting to show up on motherboards. EVGA’s Classified SR-2 is a supersized, dual-socket desktop building block that tries to do it all, and — unusually for dual-CPU logic boards — it’s targeted at enthusiasts rather than buttoned-down business types. Four PCI-Express x16 slots, room for a dozen memory sticks (up to 48GB of RAM), and two USB 3.0 ports add some spec sheet glamor, but you’ll likely be wanting to know how much performance you can wring out of two 3.33GHz Intel Xeon 5680 chips working in tandem. The short answer is a lot. The long answer is, of course, that you’ll need to apply those 24 threads of power to applications that can really utilize them, such as the predictable video processing and 3D rendering. That’s where the multithreaded, multicore, multiprocessor rig really shone in this review, and the EVGA board underpinning it also acquitted itself with distinction. Hit the source for the benchmark results and more photography of exposed circuitry.

EVGA’s dual-CPU Classified SR-2 motherboard put to the test: worth the money if you know what you’re doing originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just when you were thinking the pandas had gobbled up all the bamboo laptops, ASUS has finally shipped some of its latest offerings to the UK. Unlike the US, however, the lucky tea-sipping Brits are spoiled with two size options: the 13-inch, 3.75-pound U33Jc and the 15-inch, 6.1-pound U53Jc. Apart from the extra inches and the bonus DVD burner on the U53Jc, these two Windows 7 machines are almost identical: there’s a 2.26GHz Core i5-430M CPU, 1,366 x 768 LED-backlit LCD, NVIDIA GeForce 310M with Optimus technology, 4GB DDR3 RAM, and one USB 3.0 port along with two 2.0 ports. The prices? £849 ($1,292) and £899 ($1,368), respectively. Before you whip out your credit card, though, be sure to keep an eye out for our forthcoming review.

Continue reading ASUS U33Jc and U53Jc Bamboo Series laptops priced for UK consumption

ASUS U33Jc and U53Jc Bamboo Series laptops priced for UK consumption originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For better or worse, these ain’t your grandmother’s hard drives. Iomega has teamed up with Skin Industries in order to debut some of the wildest, zaniest looking 2.5-inch portable HDDs this planet has ever seen, with a trio of designs shipping today. When speaking with the company, we were told that these three were sort of a trial run to see if consumers were actually into such exotic pieces, but we got the impression that we may end up seeing more if this does indeed spark a new craze. The Iomega Skin drives — outside of the exterior — aren’t that radical within; you’ll find USB 2.0 connectivity and a single 500GB option to choose from. For now, $119.99 gets you a Knock Out, Red Hot or Radical (shown above and throughout) skinned hard drive, and while we didn’t exactly expect these to be crafted with precision, we were thrilled to find that our own unit had the logos baked into the plastic — no stickers or decals here. If you’re into the graphics, the drive itself looks pretty sharp, but we can’t help but wish there was an option to slap our own Photoshop creations onto this thing. In related news, SIIG managed to push out the world’s first 4- and 7-port USB 3.0 hubs, which handled a multi-drive transfer with poise and precision during our brief testing; of course, we couldn’t push the new Iomega drive to SuperSpeed or anything, but if you’re in need of a product to help you simultaneously connect all seven of the USB 3.0 devices in existence today, they’re available in the US for $59.99 a pop.

Continue reading Iomega’s 500GB ‘Skin’ external HDDs boast designs your mom wouldn’t approve of

Iomega’s 500GB ‘Skin’ external HDDs boast designs your mom wouldn’t approve of originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OCZ’s Enyo USB 3.0 portable SSD is still a fortnight or so away from hitting typical sales channels, but that hasn’t stopped PC Perspective from picking one up via alternative means and putting it through its paces. We already knew that this would easily be the sexiest USB 3.0 SSD to hit the streets this year (okay, so we’re assuming, but we’re willing to bet a handful of Microsoft Points!), but now we know it’ll also be one of the fastest. When tested alongside a USB 3.0 Super Talent thumb drive in a reasonably potent Core i7 desktop, critics found that read / write performance was downright stunning, with sustained read speeds hitting 195MB/sec and write speeds reaching as high as 220MB/sec. ‘Course, the lofty price means that this beaut couldn’t be recommended to all, but it’s certainly nice to have the option if you’re still looking for ways to spend that tax refund check. Video’s after the break, y’all.

Continue reading OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 SSD gets reviewed: seductively speedy

OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 SSD gets reviewed: seductively speedy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 06:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we found out that the Ion 2-packing Eee PC 1201PNs lacked NVIDIA Optimus tech for switching graphics hardware on the fly, well, it was a bit of a bummer to say the least. But, ASUS is at least fixing its successor, the Eee PC 1215. It’s largely the same machine as the 1201, packing a dual-core Atom D510 processor and Ion graphics to complement the onboard graphics. This one, though, will have the Optimus hardware to switch betwixt the two, saving battery life all the while. The case has also been subtly refreshed but, most interestingly, ASUS saw fit to throw in a pair of USB 3.0 ports, their cerulean insides shining like beacons to guide us toward the future of high-speed file transfers. We’re not sure when the 1215 is destined to hit retail and make the 1201PN obsolete, nor how much of a premium it will cost when it does, but there are plenty more pictures of the thing and even a few benchmarks at the source link.

ASUS Eee PC 1215 with Ion receives Optimus and USB 3.0 augmentation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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