The Zone

Right after the GO OC 2008, Gigabyte was kind enough to let us play around with their new P45 Ultra Durable 3 board. With a 2 Oz copper layer in between the PCB, as well as stronger components this board is quite likely what the Toughbook is to notebooks, the ruggedly tough version. We didn't manage to play too much with it in that we didn't push it too much (overclock) but the board does have custom BIOS function to do so. For more information and details on the board check out our full coverage in the latest issue of HWM.

The second stage of the Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championships 2008 (GO OC 2008) was a thrilling race to shatter the world's current overclocking records. Several World OC Records fell that day with a neck and neck race between Team Vietnam and Team USA 2 that culminated in a 5:4 win for the champs of the P45 Freestyle competition. For more details on the thrilling drama, check out our report in the latest issue of HWM.

The first stage of GO OC 2008 (Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championship 2008) is finally over and we have the top three teams for the P45 OC bash. They include team Sweden 2, team Russia and team USA 1. For more indepth info and who exactly is the champ (if you can't recognise them from the pic!) then take a look at our latest issue of HWM. Next will be the freestyle event and we'll really see how far these catz can take it to the next level.

Gigabyte's Open Overclocking Championship 2008 live from the Grand Hyatt Ballroom at Taipei. Check out all the boyz doing their thing in HWM's latest issue.

Above - DiGi and AIG General Insurance executives posing for a photo - complete with safety helmet

Below - DiGi's Albern Murty announces the plan details to members of the media

DiGi has announced some good news for its mobile subscribers; free accident insurance coverage by AIG up to RM10000 which also covers disability and loss of limbs. Its a 24-hour worldwide policy available to all DiGi subscribers which have been with the company at least for three months. To start your free insurance coverage, SMS 'INS YES' to 2000!

We're starting a new photography section in the magazine, and we would like to dedicate a page to all you shutterbugs out there, so feel free to email us your shots at editorial@my.hardwaremag.com! Don't forget to include your name and the kit you're using too, so send them shots over!

Other notebook makers are quickly jumping on the Centrino 2 bandwagon with their versions. So far we have seen improved notebook performance overall but nearly as impressive as the first Centrino 2 notebook we got our hands on. However, the other Centrino 2 notebook we tested had much better stability compared to the first, so take a look at the PCMark05 score and if you're interested, pick up the September issue of HWM for a more indepth analysis.

NVIDIA's latest entry level graphic card to hit the market is the 9500 GT. We managed to get our hands on the 512MB version and found a teeny tiny mighty single-slot titan waiting for us. At first glance it looks like it can barely hold its own weight in terms of gaming performance, but this miniscule card can even run Crysis with a reasonable amount of tweaking! Check out the 3DMark06 score below for an idea about the card but for a more indepth analysis go get the September issue of HWM 2008.

We finally managed to get our hands on the dual GPU HD 4870 X2 graphic card from AMD-ATI. So far, the card looks and feels more or less like a carbon copy of the HD 3870 X2, featuring the same long dual slot design. The card is still heavy as ever but it does boast a 3DMark Vantage score that blows everything including the GTX 280 out of the water. However, there are definite shortcomings. Read the full review in our September issue of HWM.

Intel's performance notebook processor, the Centrino 2 has hit the streets, with plenty notebook makers already beginning the churn out for notebooks with the Centrino 2 processor. We were quite surprised by its performance because it not only tries its best to beat out equal desktop systems, it is also quite successful. Check out the PCMark05 score below. For the full-blown analysis check it out in our September issue of HWM.

After AMD-ATI put out the HD 4870 and HD 4850 it seemed as if it was directly challenging NVIDIA with the HD 4870 against NVIDIA's own GTX 260. NVIDIA has never been one to take this lying down and has fired back a salvo of its own with the 9800 GT, which according to our tests should be nicely positioned against the previously unchallenged HD 4850. Check out our 3DMark06 test below. For a full review and analysis of some of the 9800 GT cards out there, check out our latest issue of HWM (HWM September 2008).

Phew! What a tiring weekend it was at the second PIKOM PC Fair of the year! With more bargains ranging from USB flashdrives to monitors, printers, and even notebooks now, it really is a place to go to if you're needing new tech toys. Here's a photo compilation of what we saw over the weekend! Hit the jump for more images. 

Howdy folks. HWM was recently invited to a regional product launch in Beijing courtesy of HP Malaysia and we sure liked what we saw

Times are hard on me

There is nothing but a mess

Of TVs and DVDs

LOL

Look out for the review of the Pioneer DVR DVD recorder in next month's HWM!

zerotau posted a picture of his workplace the other day, so I thought I'd do the same myself. :D It's not as messy but what's not pictured are the 10 or so product boxes aptly "boxing" me in my cubicle. I'll spare you the utter cluttersome of my workplace surroundings and just quickly describe what's on my desk.