Our technology analyst Jason Cross noted in his article on building an $800 gaming PC that most budget PCs from major OEMs don't really address the needs of gamers. For example, many times they won't let you upgrade to a stronger graphics card. Dell's recent XPS 630 gives gamers who are on a budget a pretty good deal for $1,269. It performs well, but what if you want to go the extra mile to squeeze out a little more juice from it?

Hacking Dell: Overclocking the XPS 630 @ Extreme Tech

Got an itch to push your new NVIDIA 8800 GS, GT or GTS 512MB a little by doing a voltage modification? Well, you're in luck. All you need is a soldering iron and some simple resistors.

GeForce 8800 GS/GT/GTS Voltmods @ techPowerUp!

In this review we will be looking at the Mushkin HP2-6400 “blue label†modules. These are a DDR2 800Mhz modules in a 4GB kit, a 2 x 2GB configuration. For those unfamiliar with the Performance line of Mushkin memory the blue modules fall into the lower end of the line up between the XP “black†modules and EM “silver†modules.

Mushkin HP2-6400 4GB Memory @ Ninjalane

With CeBIT opening its doors in Germany in just a matter of days, it seems that Razer is already getting us antsy by rolling out a new teaser for an upcoming mouse. Granted, it's not like the firm hasn't pulled something similar before, but considering that it specifically notes March 4th as the date to check back for more details, it's not exactly being secretive about where the launch will take place.

Razer teases CeBIT-bound Speed of (The) Light mouse @ Engadget

Steve Jobs had originally announced that the iPhone and iPod Touch Software Development Kit (SDK) would be released in February 2008. Last week rumors pointed to a brief delay in the launch of the SDK. The SDK will allow developers to release their own software applications for both the iPod Touch and iPhone.

Its first Linux variant aimed at handhelds, the software is tailored for the Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) expected to launch in spring based on Intel's Silverthorne technology and is designed to recognize basic iPhone-like gestures such as swiping to scroll through menus and websites. A scrolling visual front end based on Flash or Clutter replaces the traditional Ubuntu desktop and is designed to be used solely with fingers, including with an on-screen keyboard.

Cash money didn't work, flattery isn't working, maybe it's time for something a little more...drastic. Citing "sources", the New York Post reckon that EA could forget about buying Take-Two the nice way, and instead do what current boss Strauss Zelnick did when he took power: make kissy-faces with Take-Two's largest investors and convince them it's time for a change.

Earlier this week, Electronic Arts publicly revealed its intent to purchase Grand Theft Auto property holder Take-Two Interactive and launched EATake2.com, a website detailing that effort. Take-Two has since rejected EA's offer of $2 billion, prompting speculation of a hostile takeover.

The FreeBSD Release Engineering Team is pleased to announce the availability of FreeBSD 7.0-RELEASE. This is the first release from the 7-STABLE branch which introduces many new features along with many improvements to functionality present in the earlier branches.

Those enterprising folks at Game Cube Linux (GC Linux) claim to have developed a proof of concept version of Linux running natively on the best-selling Nintendo Wii games console. The software exploits the Twilight Hack, a quirk in some versions of the Zelda game that lets external software to be loaded without performing hardware modifications.

Like a plentiful oil well, the European Union (EU) has found, since 2004, that Microsoft is a rich source of funds. The EU allowed Microsoft to continue to operate in the region, but found it in violation of antitrust laws. Its conclusion -- in order to stay Microsoft will have to pay some big fines.

Consideration of these proposals "have required, and may continue to require, the expenditure of significant time and resources by us," the company said in the annual report.

But it’s not just Microsoft’s own Hyper-V that isn’t quite ready for prime-time. Several other virtualization products from Microsoft’s competitors and partners aren’t 100-percent enterprise-ready, either, at this point.

“The market adoption of Blu-ray as the optical disc standard for High Definition content results in a growing demand for Blu-ray playback solutions. The portable external Lite-On BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB 2.0 cable.â€

More than 8,700 FTP login names and passwords, some of which grant access to Fortune 500 servers, are being sold online through a sort of eBay for stolen data, a security company revealed this week. Prices vary in relation to the Google PageRank of the compromised sites.

PayPal "has gone to great pains to ... not be a bank" according to Christa Quarles, managing director of Thomas Weisel Partners. Some users think the company is holding the cash to make money on the interest, but it's a small enough amount -- an estimated $10 million a quarter, tops -- that it doesn't make a significant impact on eBay's bottom line.

Zalman has a reputation of doing exactly this. Zalman is a company that is most well known for Quiet PC cooling and cases, yet it regularly releases unrelated products; 5.1 headphones, USB soundcards and even monitors—all with varying success. Next up for Zalman is the ZM-FG1000 FPSGUN gaming mouse. Shaped like a pistol grip with an extended "toe" housing the optical sensor, the mouse claims to improve your performance with FPS games.

Zalman ZM-FG1000 FPSGUN Gaming Mouse @ bit-tech.net

Most of the 119 million new transistors are for the larger 6MB L2 cache on the Wolfdale as the Conroe had just 4MB. Other transistors are dedicated to the new SSE4 instruction set and the super shuffle engine.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Processor @ Legit Reviews

What do we have here then? XFX have kindly sent us three of their top-end 8800 Ultra's to perform the review, along with their 780i SLI motherboard we reviewed previously.

XFX Triple SLI @ Overclock 3D

QNAP TS-109 Pro Turbo Station is an ultra-high-speed All-in-one NAS (Network Attached Storage) server designed for SMB/SOHO and professional users. With the easy installation, friendly web-based interface, and complete server feature sets, small office users can easily set up a network system for all sorts of storage applications without MIS help.

QNAP TS-109 Pro NAS @ Benchmark Reviews

G94 is very competitive at its price point in the form of the GeForce 9600 GT. That the current generation couldn't outpace the previous generation is a major complaint we had of previous midrange launches. Hopefully NVIDIA and AMD will be able to keep up the competition for all the new introductions we see this year.

@ AnandTech

However, we have something special for you today. eDimensional has teamed up with gamer and modder Benjamin Heckendorn, affectionately known was Ben Heck, to create the modified AudioFX Pro 5+1 headset. As the name suggests, this headset features surround sound - a very appealing feature for gamers.

eDimensional AudioFX Pro 5+1 Headset @ Overclockers Online

The Atomic waterblock is slim and looks like a single slot solution, but in reality it is a 1.5 slot card, as it will get close to the card on the side... The PCB remained the reference one, and the only difference on Sapphire HD 38780 X2 Atomic is a new water cooling system.

Watercooled Sapphire Atomic 3870 X2 @ Fudzilla

We stopped by an visited Altec Lansing (and their parent company Plantronics) and this year’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas, we were introduced to the 2008 Upgrader Series that included headphones with the unique SnugFit design.

Altec Lansing UHP336 In-Ear Upgrader Series @ Legit Reviews

No, you have probably not yet heard of Aeneon. Aeneon is a division of a German company Qimonda, the world's third largest manufacturer of DRAM, part of Infineon Technologies AG. So, there is really nothing new about Aeneon but the name.

Aeneon Xtune DDR3-1333 2GB @ Think Computers

The NZXT Cryo LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler is touted as the first notebook cooler to feature triple 120mm adjustable fans and a full 3mm aluminum frame. But will it do the job? The NZXT Cryo LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler is one of many new coolers on the market, and Benchmark Reviews tests to see if it sets itself apart from the crowd.

NZXT Cryo LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler @ Benchmark Reviews

All hardcore gamers and hardware experts will be very pleased to know that ASUS is working on a Intel 5400 + Intel ESB2E powered workstation motherboard. The Z7S-WS, just like Intel's Skulltrail platform which is all over the news today, adopts two LGA 771 processors, FB-DIMM DDR2 memory (6x slots for up to 24GB memory), and has 2x PCI-e x16 and 1x PCI-e x8 slots.

ASUS Z7S-WS Dual LGA 771 Motherboard Priced @ techPowerUp!

The SteelSeries Ikari mice are the result of 15 months extensive research of ergonomics, technology, shape, motion, hand grip and play styles by gamers. The shape, materials and specifications of the SteelSeries Ikari mice are based on input from professional players...

SteelSeries Ikari Laser @ OC Mod Shop

The new Pulse smartpen from Livescribe is a computer within a pen that captures handwriting and simultaneously records audio and synchronizes it to the writing.

Livescribe Pulse Smartpen [preview] @ I4U

Nå men det er historie og nu gælder det AMDs seneste kreation, nemlig deres nye 790FX chipset. Det vrimler ikke ligefrem med bundkort der bruger dette nye chipset og trækker man dem fra der er udstyret med 4 stk. PCI-Express slots og dermed muligheden for at køre Quad CrossFire, ja så er vi nok nede på et par stykker.

MSI K9A2 Platinum @ Tweak.dk (Hollish)