OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Max IOPS 240GB SSD Review

Introduction

In our very first SandForce SF-2200 article we told you that SandForce opened the door for manufacturers to get creative with products this year. When that article went live we had already learned that some SSD manufacturers were taking a good look at what NAND flash they wanted to use in their SF-2281 offerings. So far, we've only seen IMFT (Intel / Micron) 25nm flash paired with the SandForce SF-2281 controller, but that is about to change.

The OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS uses Toshiba Toggle flash rather than the IMFT flash we saw on the standard Vertex 3 and OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G. In order to use the Toshiba flash, a new PCB was needed and we suspect a few programming tweaks went in as well. The end result was a higher maximum limit for Input / Output operations Per Second.

If a higher IOPS version sounds familiar from OCZ, it's because it is. Last year the Vertex 2 Line was the highest rated IOPS model for the consumer product line of SSDs and the Agility 2 was the 'standard' model. For some reason the naming scheme changed this year. We suspect that OCZ pushed their Vertex 3 out and while doing so found that the Toshiba flash would allow them to push the SF-2281 even higher. The Agility line is returning as is the Solid, both now getting a '3' and both using SandForce controllers. We'll have the Agility 3 in for testing around the time you read this article and at that time we'll break down OCZ's SSD product line for 2011.

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ASRock Z68 Pro3-M (Intel Z68) Motherboard Review

Introduction

I'm a really big fan of the mATX platform, even more so over the last few years as we've seen that moving to the mATX platform doesn't mean you need to sacrifice the power that most full size ATX boards bring.

The release of the new Z68 chipset means a bunch of new boards from companies and today we'll be looking at our first mATX version of the new chipset. The Z68 Pro3-M from ASRock carries a very similar name to a board we've already looked at, the ASRock Z68 Pro3. Of course, the M in this case means we're dealing with an mATX version.

So, does moving to a smaller board mean we're going to see less performance? What are we missing with the move to a smaller board? Well, to answer that and more, read on. Let's start by looking at the package ASRock have put together; from then we'll move into the motherboard itself before looking at the BIOS. Once that's done we'll discuss how we went with overclocking before getting into the actual performance side of things to see just what exactly this mATX board from ASRock is able to bring to the table.

Fingers crossed we'll enjoy the same strong performance as the Pro3 version we looked at. Before we find out, though, let's get into the package.

The Package

As far as the box size goes, this is the smallest box we've seen so far when compared to other Z68 boards. That's of course due to the smaller stature of the board itself. Inside the package there's not a whole lot going on; we've got software and motherboard guide, driver CD, two SATA cables and our back I/O plate. As far as what's in the box, it's exactly the same as what we saw in the non -M Z68 Pro3.

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Palit GeForce GTX 560 Sonic Platinum Video Card Review

Introduction

It's easy to be mistaken that we're looking at a card that we've already seen for a while, but the GTX 560 is just that, a GTX 560. Unlike the models either side of it, this one doesn't carry the Ti prefix that we've seen from NVIDIA lately.

I suppose in the older days we would've had the GTX 560 and today we would be looking at the GTX 560 "SE". Instead, the decision for NVIDIA to add the well-known Ti tag that we saw many years ago means they're able to greet a more basic model in a particular series without it.

The biggest problem is when we've seen these deviations from the initial launch model, they've never delivered quite like we had hoped. So the question we ask ourselves today is; will the GTX 560 go against the trend and be a stand out model?

With full freedom given to partners at launch, we're seeing some pretty cool looking models straight away that carry some nice looking cooling solutions and some impressive clocks.

Before we get into the performance side of things, though, and find out just how the new GTX 560 sits in the market, we'll first check out the package that Palit has put together. Once that's done we'll have a closer look at the card and then we'll be checking out the specifications to see exactly what we're dealing with.

Package

Looking at the bundle that Palit has put together, it's pretty bare, with only three items included. We've got a quick installation guide, driver CD and a dual Molex to 6-Pin PCI-E power connector.

Overall, the limited package isn't a surprise; Palit are generally a bit lighter than others when it comes to the bundle and the fact it's a mid-range card means that the bundle is going to be generally lighter than the higher end models we look at.

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The Twilight Zone: Season Two (1960) Blu-ray Movie Review

The first season of The Twilight Zone received a rapturous response when it was first aired on American screens in the fall of 1959. For all its quality attributes; the acting, the music and the adult tone of the series, the one thing that set The Twilight Zone above its rivals on television screens was the quality of its scripts. Rod Serling worked extremely hard to craft an engaging series, with interesting, topical and thought provoking stories that are as relevant 50 years later as they always were.

Some episode highlights of the second series include: The Russian allegory The Invaders, the William Shatner starring The Nick of Time which was recently remade as the feature film The Box, and A Thing about Machines which goes to show that some things never change.

The vast majority of the second season Twilight Zone scripts were again penned by creator Rod Serling and showed little evidence of degradation and burn out that would plague later seasons. Just like the first series, The Twilight Zone is quality and relatively timeless television at its best.

Video

The Twilight Zone is presented in a full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (its original aspect ratio), encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression.

The vast majority of the second series of The Twilight Zone was shot on 35mm film, before being transferred to video. All previous TV, VHS and DVD masters were derived from these video transfers. For this release (and future broadcasting) new copyright owner Image undertook a major restoration of the series from the original camera negative, revealing a level of detail and quality never seen before. Unfortunately, due to studio cost cutting, six of the episodes were shot and edited on low quality analog tape. Unsurprisingly, these look considerably poorer than the majority of the episodes shot on film.

For fans of the series, the quality on offer here is nothing short of a miracle. Check out almost any shot featuring a facial close up to see exactly what I mean. Obviously, there is no colour in the image, but the gradients of black and white are pleasing, with very little black crush.

Overall, this set features some very pleasing transfers that replicate the Twilight Zone masters perfectly.

Audio

The main restored audio track is encoded in uncompressed PCM 2.0 (dual mono) with an unrestored mono audio track using the same codec.

Viewers of the Twilight Zone: Season will know exactly what to expect here. The audio track on offer here is every bit the 50 years of age and all the audio track can do here is present it to the best of its capacity. It's fine enough, but don't go expecting any surround sound shenigans here.

There's not much that really needs to be said about the audio. Suffice to say, it is highly audible and very clear. Sound effects and music sound perfectly fine, however their frequency response is severely hampered.

Overall, this features perfectly serviceable audio under the constraints of the original elements.

Extras

Again, Shock Entertainment and Image have produced a fabulous treasure trove of extras for fans of the series. Let's jump in.

20 of the episodes feature an Audio Commentary (in fact, many have multiple commentary tracks); featuring original actors, screenwriters and Twilight Zone aficionados such as authors and film historians. I didn't listen to each and every one due to the obvious time factors, but I thoroughly enjoyed what was on offer here - fans will definitely learn a lot and be enthralled by the tidbits and trivia they'll learn.

Additionally, almost all of the episodes also feature an Isolated score audio track from Hollywood legends such as Jerry Goldsmith and Bernard Hermann.

A 2002 re-creation of select episodes were performed as radio plays and are presented here with a single still image as a background. All 16 episodes equal around 12 hours of audio. Plasma owners would be recommended to simply turn off their display during this time.

Finally, we have a bunch of vintage Interview segments and promo spots for the series.

Overall, a very impressive collection of extras. Just like the first season, it's hard to imagine this set will ever be bettered.

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IN WIN BUC Mid Tower Chassis Review

Introduction

Typically what I get from IN WIN has great designs and innovative ways of cooling their chassis, and both the color and concepts of their tool-free systems make these cases easy to use and I can tell them apart from most others from over 100 foot away with attributes such as the bright yellowish-green of all the fans and tool-free mechanisms. Setting yourself apart from the crowd is the name of the game, especially in a market so flooded with options. While you may not appreciate the coloring personally, I can think of another company, Noctua, that you know from as far as your eye can see that the tan and burgundy fan is indeed only from one maker. The same applies to IN WIN with almost every chassis I have seen to date.

While the Interiors tend to share most of the key features, as with any case designer, it's much cheaper to keep all the colors the same and re-use some of the components that are tried and true for the previous cases in the line-up. The old adage of, if it isn't broke don't fix it, applies everywhere, it's just in this type of market it can set a theme that becomes easily recognizable when the exterior of the chassis can go from completely artsy and has colors and structures with no real use but to look a certain way. I have also had a few chassis' that while still not my exact cup of tea, are cases I would recommend to other buyers because they offer a solid coloration, and while the design concept may be unique, they are a bit more sleek and less "ricer" than what I was originally seeing from IN WIN.

Today we are looking at a chassis that may be a mid tower, but takes traits from a couple of the later cases I just looked at; the Dragon Rider, and Dragon Slayer chassis exteriors. You will soon see the similarity in the exterior, along with a cool little lockable door on the side to give access to your hard drives; something that I have seen done, but not exactly like this. If this was a video review I might take 20 seconds to make fun of the name, as would Tosh.0 with anything this unusual, but I will simply stay away from the odd naming which I assume is pronounced "buck". Let's jump right in and see what specifications the BUC offers and how much it is going to set you back to get one and see if IN WIN has what it takes to draw your money in this competitive mid tower market.

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