| Daily Deals 9/12/12: MSI Radeon 7770, 8GB of Corsair Vengeance, and More Posted: 12 Sep 2012 11:48 AM PDT  
Top Deal Today's top deal from Logicbuy is the MSI Radeon 7770 videocard which is on sale for $100.00 (down $40 from its normal $140.00 price). For those unfamiliar with the card, the 7770 has a core clock of 1,000 MHz and a memory clock of 4,500 MHz. The card also satiates the needs of those seeking triple monitor setups as it supports three different video ports (Dual DVI, HDMI, and Display Port). The rest of today's deals include: Laptops: 18.4" Alienware M18xr2 Core i7 2.3GHz Gaming Laptop 6GB of DDR3 RAM, 500GB hard drive, 1920x1080 display and 2GB GeForce GTX 660M for $1,749.99 with free shipping (normally $1,999.99 - use coupon code BHW1L0MX0D?MCX ). 14" Dell Inspiron 14z Core i5 2.5GHz thin & light Laptop 6GB of DDR3 RAM, 750GB hard drive and Adobe Elements 9 Bundle for $499.99 (normally $599.99 - use $100 Coupon Code 4NB4RJW486G0MN ). Desktops: Dell XPS 8500 Core i7 3.4GHz Desktop with 8GB of DDR3 RAM, 2TB hard drive and Radeon HD 7570 for $749.00 with free shipping (normally $999 - use coupon code V48PR?HP99J3D?). Computing Hardware & Peripherals: 27" Planar PX2710MW 1920x1080 LCD Monitor with 2ms response time for $210.00 with free shipping (normally $470 - use coupon code ZHR??0KFLZM32V). Logitech Wireless Mouse M525 (White/Red) for $9.99 with free shipping at TigerDirect (normally $35.99). 90GB Corsair Force Series 3 2.5" SATA III Internal SSD (CSSD-F90GB3-BK) for $64.99 at TigerDirect (normally $79.99). Logitech G930 Wireless Gaming Headset for $89.99 with free shipping at Newegg (normally $99.99 - use coupon code: EMCNAJJ46 ). Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) of DDR3 1866 MHz Desktop Memory for $44.99 with free shipping (normally $59.99). |
| The iPhone 5 Has Arrived, Was It Worth the Wait? Posted: 12 Sep 2012 10:55 AM PDT  Apple's iPhone 5 is finally here, and it's pretty much everything that's been rumored in the weeks and months prior to today. It has a half-inch larger touchscreen display that's now 4 inches with an 1136x640 resolution, which marks the first time the iPhone has deviated from using a 3.5-inch screen; there's a 4G LTE radio tucked inside; Apple upgraded the system-on-chip (SoC) to an A6 processor; and yes, it's officially called the iPhone 5 and not simply iPhone or 'new iPhone' (a la the third generation iPad).
Right off the bat one could say the new resolution might be problematic for apps, but to go along with the new resolution, Apple said it updated all of its own software. As for third-party apps that were designed with a smaller resolution in mind, those will be letterboxed rather than upsized and pixelated. Also on the topic of the display, Apple says it's now packing 326 pixels per inch with full sRGB rendering. The new A6 processor is a powerful upgrade over the A5 chip found in the iPhone 4S. According to Apple, the A6 is 22 percent smaller, allowing the company to design a smartphone that, while boasting a bigger display, is 18 percent thinner than before, measuring just 7.6mm, and 20 percent lighter. It's also twice as fast, both in CPU and GPU chores, and more energy efficient. Apple upgraded the front-facing FaceTime camera to support 720p, and it works over 3G with iOS 6. The rear-facing "iSight" camera, has an 8MP sensor with a five element lens, backside illumination, hybrid IR filter, f/2.4 aperture, dynamic low light mode, spacial noise reduction, and takes pictures 40 percent faster than before. We'll update with pricing and release info when that's made available, but in the meantime, you can follow the iPhone 5 launch event on Mac|Life's (our sister site) live blog. Update According to Mac|Life, the iPhone 5 is priced the same as the iPhone 4S at launch. It will cost $199 for 16GB; $299 for 32GB; and $399 for 64GB, all of which is contract pricing. Meanwhile, the iPhone 4S is being reduced to $99 for the 4S, and the iPhone 4 8GB will be free, both on contract as well. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Neo Geo X to Debut at $130 as Standalone System in December Posted: 12 Sep 2012 08:31 AM PDT  As we reported in August, Neo Geo is booking a comeback tour in the form of the Neo Geo X, a handheld console that will go on sale in December. At the time, we said it would cost $200 for the Gold edition and come with 20 pre-installed games to celebrate the console's 20th anniversary, but we now know there will also be a less expensive version, one that runs $130 and will also come with the same collection of games. So, what's the difference?
Well, the standalone console (versus the Gold version) won't come with a charging dock or joystick. The charging dock lets gamers hook the Neo Geo X up to their HDTV, while the joystick is intended to replicate the arcade experience at home. If you can live without those amenities, the standalone console saves you $70 and pushes the handheld console into relatively affordable territory, albeit it's still a little pricey considering the age of the titles. And if you change your mind, you can always buy the joystick and dock separately, though SNK Playmore has yet to announce pricing info for either of those. 
Any thoughts on the standalone price? Sound off in the comments section below! Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
| Lian Li Launches Brushed Aluminum PC-A75X and PC-A76X Full Tower Cases Posted: 12 Sep 2012 06:58 AM PDT  Lian Li has been churning out brushed aluminum computer cases for nearly three decades now, occasionally coming out with funky designs like the PC-777 Memorial Edition. The case maker's latest enclosures don't take any major aesthetic risks like that one did, and instead Lian Li's new PC-A75X and PC-A76X stick to what made the company famous in the first place, which is a simply stated, full tower, brushed aluminum design.
If you're looking to showboat with flashing LEDs and aggressive curves, these aren't the cases for you, or at least that's what we can discern from looking at Lian Li's press images. They are, however, sizable towers, each one capable of holding a dozen 3.5-inch hard drives. In fact, these cases are nearly identically spec'd, save for the fact that the PC-A75X has a vented front panel to pull coor air into the chassis, whereas the PC-A76X sports a lockable solid aluminum front bezel (with vents on the side of the door and bottom of the chassis). 
Otherwise, both cases are made from aluminum and feature 11 expansion slots, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, HD audio, three 140mm fans, a single 120mm fan, and support for VGA cards up to 360mm long. They can also accommodate CPU coolers up to 170mm high and PSUs up to 360mm long. The PC-A75X and PC-A76X should be available soon for $199 and $219, respectively. Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook |
