Hothardware says ''Just a few weeks ago, we took a look at the two fastest workstation class graphics cards currently on the market, the FireGL V8650 from ATI/AMD and the QuadroFX 5600 from Nvidia. We found both products to be quite powerful and thought either one would be a solid choice for a high-end workstation.  However, the one comment which was repeated over and over again when looking at those cards was that unless you worked for a major studio or production firm, they were simply not very affordable. At nearly $3,000 a piece, the FireGL V8650 and QuadroFX 5600 require large investments. However, don’t think that just because a graphics card is targeted for workstation use that it has to be over-the-top expensive.

While workstation cards are certainly more expensive than their gaming-class brethren, it’s absolutely possible to build a budget-level system with a workstation-class graphics card to match. Both Nvidia and ATI have workstation-class cards which scale down well below $500, a fraction of the price of the high-end cards we looked at in our prior article. Today, we’ll be looking at a few products which make up this new generation of relatively inexpensive workstation cards, and we’ll see how performance compares to their high-end counterparts as well.''

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GeCube Radeon HD 3870 X2 X-Turbo Dual (O.C Edition)

HardwareZone Says ''ATI's new Radeon HD 3870 X2 has restored some faith among enthusiasts that the company could produce a decent high-end product that is competitive with NVIDIA's best. Even if it took two Radeon HD 3870 cores to beat the top G80, end-users did not need a CrossFire capable board (just like the GeForce 7950 GX2) and the CrossFire implementation was invisible and hassle free (though we would like the option to disable it when CrossFire stumbles.) Add to that the somewhat competitive pricing which matches the present retail price of a GeForce 8800 GTX and one has the making of a rather decent product.

It ain't a graphics card launch if it was free of controversy and debate however, with the performance of the X2 highly dependent on CrossFire working perfectly and with new drivers made available on ATI's FTP on its launch date that claim to improve performance. Unfortunately, the problem is that we have yet to see significant benchmark improvements on our system with these new drivers. We have also seen some discussions about its PCIe 2.0 status. Reading the fine print on ATI's website quickly clears it up. All Radeon HD 3870 X2 are supposed to be PCIe 2.0 compatible if they follow strictly to ATI's design specifications but the board partners' retail products may not conform fully. Hence, one should check the manufacturer's specifications and box packaging carefully to ensure that it has the proper support.

Of course, this point is moot for us at the moment, since we can't really test this out on our non-PCIe 2.0 test system but regardless of whether it is PCIe 1.1 (as its internal 48-lane PCIe 1.1 PLX switch seems to suggest) or 2.0, we believe that the difference should be minimal. What's more relevant to consumers is that there are quite a few vendors offering the Radeon HD 3870 X2, which is always a good sign of its prospects. Not only that, there are also a couple of interesting, custom boards that includes non standard features. One of these, is GeCube's Radeon HD 3870 X-2 X-Turbo Dual O.C Edition, which besides being slightly overclocked, comes with its X-Turbo Dual cooler with two 75mm fans and quad heatpipes. It even offers four dual-link DVI outputs and a tweaked PCB design.''

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BiTMICRO announces 1.6TB SCSI solid state drive

"Almost totally ignoring price issues BiTMICRO has announced 416 and 832 GB solid state drives for enterprise, military and industrial applications but it didn't stop here as now a new Altima flash-boasting drive is in the works.

With no less than 1.6TB of storage space, the E-Disk Altima E3S320 solid state flash disk is an Ultra320 SCSI 3.5-inch drive that is set to offer data transfer speeds of 230 MB/sec (peak speed is 320 MB/sec in burst mode). Utilizing single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash chips, the drive also comes equipped with BiTMICRO's patented wear leveling and proprietary BCH Error Correction Code technologies which ensure data integrity and drive longevity.

BiTMICRO's 1.6TB SSD beast is expected to begin sampling in the second quarter of the year with delivery being planned for Q3. The E-Disk Altima Ultra320 SCSI drive series includes devices which range from 16 GB to 1.6TB."

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Microsoft's new mice continue its trend of long, horrible product name

"Microsoft today announced a pair of new computer mice for desktop computers. The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 is a rechargeable mouse that charges on a horizontal charge station. Power for the mouse comes from a single rechargeable AAA battery good for three weeks of use on one full charge.

Wireless connectivity for the mouse is via 2.4GHz technology providing a range of 30 feet from the receiver. Sensitivity for the mouse is low by gamer standards at 1,000 dpi, but higher than typical mouse fare at 800 dpi. The Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 features one-touch access to Vista’s Flip 3D feature and has a magnifier button for enlarging onscreen text. Pricing for the Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 is $69.95 and the mouse will be available in March 2008.

The second mouse introduced by Microsoft today is the Wireless Laser Mouse 6000. This mouse is sized like a desktop mouse but features a snap in transceiver more commonly found on notebook mice making for easy portability. This would make the Wireless Laser Mouse 6000 a good option for notebook users who like a full size mouse."

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GeForce 9600 GT to be pricier than its predecessor

"Rumors have been swirling around about Nvidia's upcoming GeForce 9600 GT graphics card for some time now, and short of an announcement from the company, we've heard practically everything about the card. The 9600 GT is expected to feature 64 stream processors, 512MB of GDDR3 memory, a 256-bit memory bus, and core and memory speeds of 650MHz and 900MHz, respectively.

What we haven't heard is a definite price tag, however. Many rumor sites simply assumed that the card would launch in the same $149-159 price range like the GeForce 8600 GT, but according to a new report by Expreview, that assumption is incorrect. The Chinese site says the 9600 GT will actually launch at prices ranging from $169 to $189. Since the site also says the card will be available with either 256MB or 512MB of memory, pricing and memory capacities will likely be tied.

So when can we expect the 9600 GT to hit retail shelves? Sticking to previous rumors, Expreview maintains that the 9600 GT has been postponed from its previous February 14 launch date because of electrical issues and will make its appearance on February 21. The 9600 GT should be the first mainstream Nvidia product with a 256-bit memory bus, and it could be an interesting competitor to AMD's Radeon HD 3850. Currently, the cheapest 3850s are priced at $169.99, according to our price search engine."

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Yahoo terminates its premium music service

"Last month, we covered rumors suggesting that Yahoo planned to breathe some life into its Yahoo Music Unlimited service by offering unprotected MP3 files. However, as the Associated Press reports, the likelihood of this prediction ever coming true has shrunk dramatically: Yahoo has announced that it plans to close down its music subscription service for good.

The move comes as part of Yahoo's re-focusing efforts, which were triggered by its poor financial performance and have already resulted in 1,000 layoffs. The Yahoo Music Unlimited service is the latest casualty, as Yahoo now wants to shift its focus to free and ad-supported music content and "other media offerings."

Existing Yahoo Music Unlimited customers won't have to pick up their stuff and go shop elsewhere, though. Yahoo has partnered with Real Networks in order to shift its customers to the Rhapsody service some time in the first half of this year. Users will be able to access Rhapsody content from the Yahoo portal at the same fees as on Yahoo Music Unlimited. However, after a certain time, users will have to start paying for Rhapsody's regular subscriptions, which start at $12.99 per month—pricier than Yahoo's current $5.99-$8.99 monthly fees."

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BBC

"Mobile giant Nokia has begun a second assault on handheld gaming, with the launch of the N-Gage platform. The company has shifted its approach, from focusing on a dedicated games system to titles which can be played on a range of Nokia devices.

At launch, only owners of the N81 can use the service but the firm plans to roll it out to other N-series phones. N-Gage has the support of developers such as EA, Gameloft and Vivendi, who are making titles for the platform. Nokia first launched its N-Gage handset in 2003, designed to compete with the highly-successful Nintendo GameBoy.

But the device was criticised for its design and poor sales led to the phone being quickly overhauled with new versions, including the QD. "

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Hexus

"Dell is stepping up the marketing on its UK website with a teaser (pictured below) for the forthcoming XPS 630 Gaming Desktop.

It claims the 630, which looks like a combination of Megatron and KITT, is "A New Challenger". We're not so sure ourselves, we'd call it an entry-level gaming desktop, similar if not the same as the 630i shown at CES earlier in the year.

The Inquirer

"A firm has introduced power management software for PCs which it claims can save around £40 in juice for each seat in an enterprise.

Modus Interactive said the product – Powerwise – allows centralised power management in an enterprise, giving power profiles for groups or individual PCs to the techies.

Hexus

"Continuing its trend of offering high efficiency PSUs as part of its Type M series, HIPER has introduced the HPU-4M780, a 780 Watt addition to the line up.

The HPU-4M780 comes with the familiar patented mesh design and cable harness, achieves an average efficiency of over 85% and keeping with HIPER's environmental focus, comes complete in recycled packaging.

Available now at an RRP of €99 (£75), HIPER's new PSU is Nvidia SLIready and certified for dual Geforce 8800 GTX."