NAS products are a little less common than motherboards and videocards on our “to-review” list, and thus it was a pleasure to finally be able to take a closer look at the long awaited Western Digital ShareSpace, in our case a 2TB version running in striped RAID mode.

It always surprises me when any particular brand that I associate with a certain type of product turns out to also produce other devices. In the case of BenQ, it’s less of a surprise as the company has been spreading out their reach into all aspects of consumer items and PC components, not the least of which are the LCD series slowly being filled out as a complete product line.

SSD hard drives have caused a storm of interest in recent months, what with its application of new technology to an old requirement, advertised improvements in speed and power consumption, and premium cachet due to its price and exclusivity. At the same time, this same application of technology results in new considerations that must be put to rest before an SSD can favorably compare to the old standard on most fronts. We explore these in this article with the help of the Patriot Warp 64GB SSD.

                                             The Patriot Warp SSD - a 2.5" bundle of robust memory chips.

The enthusiast’s graphics cards market isn’t the only area that’s been heating up the past months, integrated graphics are making giant strides towards increased relevance towards the mid-range markets, instead of simply making its presence known in the lowest-end, integrated functionality – obsessed budget buyers. The latest of these giant strides is represented here by two boards using the same brand-new Nvidia chipset: The Asus P5N7A-VM and the Zotac GeForce 9300, both using the single-chip Nvidia 9300 “chipset”.

                                              These two 9300 representatives face off.

The first thing that greets you upon opening the Epson EMP-400W Projector’s bag is a lens cover that looks disproportionately large – it looks as if it can serve comfortably as a dinner plate. No wonder, as this lens cover protects one of the biggest (and most unique-looking) lenses to grace a projector – a fish-eye type, bulbous bowl of glass that seems all curves.

                                            Hiding behind dinner plate number one is....

It’s happened a few times before: a product that’s supposed to be easy to understand and review turns into the subject of a marathon research session aimed at making head and tails of its specs and features. In the case of Asus’ Xonar HDAV 1.3, it is not only a case of unfamiliarity; it is also a case of a sheer multitude of features that literally swamps the senses of the reviewer – in more ways than one.

                                            You wouldn't expect this fabulous-looking piece of kit to be a soundcard would you?

MSI’s Wind has been out in the market for some months now, and most, if not all reactions to it has been positive. Everything, from the looks, portability, expandability, screen, and power, while not so different from that of its competitors, were put together so well, with such good build quality, that the Wind soon became a favorite for many people looking for a secondary PC. All except for the battery – a 3-cell that is merely adequate for a portable device.

                                             It's the MSI Wind - I'm sure you've seen it before, but this one has a different twist to it...

Explain to your wife/girlfriend/mother/sister why you need that multi-thousand peso thingamajig when a perfectly cheap alternative exists. Yes, I am speaking for the most part to the males with the typical male failing of wanting that more powerful power tool, that bigger big-screen TV, that Toyota Avanza with every option in the book attached to it making it cost as much as a Fortuner. Is it something that can be explained? I’m not sure, but someone in geek heaven is surely trying to throw up some alternatives.

I guess it’s the jaded part of me that’s at fault, but I didn’t immediately notice anything exceptional with Asus’ LS221H LCD Monitor. Since the system here at the office for delegating reviews and writing assignments for the blog is sometimes arbitrary and sudden, I didn’t get the chance to review the blogosphere or even Asus’ website regarding the specs of this beautifully appointed LCD.

                                            An Asus flying saucer resides on the back panel of the LS221.

Shuttle has had a solid hold on the small form factor PC market for a long time, and it is evident that Shuttle maintains this hold not only by being one of the first to offer a good, quality product in this category, but also by constantly refreshing and innovating with their products to stay viable in a market with fast-changing tastes and needs. The Shuttle D10 Digital Home PC is the latest and by far the most interesting product to come out of the Shuttle factories for a long time.

                                             The usual non-descript Shuttle facade is interrupted here by a touch screen 7" LCD.

It’s easy to dismiss this card as nothing more than an alternative to traditionally weaker on-board video preferred by budget system builders and big names (like Dell and HP), but that would be a big mistake. Even if most enthusiasts turn up their nose on this little card’s specs and features, there are always people who can appreciate the subtle blend of price and adequate performance offered by the 9400GT videocard, here represented by the Axle 9400 GT videocard.

Power supply reviews here at the online portion of HWZ are few and far in-between, for the simple reason that we cannot borrow a load/test power unit that can adequately stress a high-end PSU too often. And the item in question can’t get much higher than this: the Gigabyte Odin Pro 1200W PSU is the highest-rated power supply unit to pass through our hands, ever.

                                             The three 9800 GTX+ cards - the one with the radiator connected to it is the Zone edition from Zotac.

There’s nothing as disappointing as missed opportunity. This is especially true with tech products, with all the possible capabilities compounded by all of the different formats, methods, and flavors of media and the hardware behind it. In this case, the Emtec Movie Cube Q120 isn’t what I’d call an exemplary product, but it is disappointing in how high it could have reached, especially with this reviewer’s high expectations, given a more polished approach to this product’s development.

                                              Three indicator lights - power, hard disk activity, and music - hide behind the black plastic.