Posted 08/29/08 at 02:00:00 PM by Will Smith

Sporting an ever-so-slightly trimmed-down shape compared to the original Sidewinder gaming mouse, along with a stripped down featureset, the Sidewinder X5 delivers great performance at a very reasonable price. Like the original Sidewinder, the design works great for gamers who use either a claw or a standard grip (or who like to change between them), but it’s not particularly comfortable for people with small- to medium-size hands. After a couple of hours of play using a standard grip, our hands cramped.

Missing from this updated Sidewinder are the original mouse’s adjustable weighting system, the interchangeable foot pads, the sensitivity display, and the weighted cable anchor. While we especially miss the cable anchor, extra features (like the one that have been omitted) aren’t something we’d expect in a mouse that costs $60.

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microsoft, mouse, mice, sidewinder, gaming mouse, reviews, gaming mice, x5

Posted 08/29/08 at 11:00:00 AM by Will Smith

Steelseries delivers a one-two punch of awesome with its first mouse—the Ikari, a standard five-button, right-handed design suitable for gamers who use either the palm and claw-style grips. With its low-profile design, the Ikari doesn’t provide sufficient support for folks who like to rest their palm on the mouse; our palm-gripped tester had a stiff hand after a few hours of play. Nonetheless, the Ikari’s other features and kick-ass sensor make us almost willing to ignore the less-than-ergonomically perfect shape.

Those features, after the jump.

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mouse, mice, hardware, gaming mouse, reviews, gaming mice, steelseries, ikari

Posted 08/28/08 at 05:24:38 PM by Will Smith

We love the shape of this mouse—it’s comfortable for even the longest session—and the DeathAdder just gets better from there. The sensor delivers pixel-perfect accuracy, and we love that the driver lets us adjust everything from X and Y sensitivity to the lights on the mouse. We’re still not sold on the idea of constantly updating firmware for a mere mouse, but Razer’s built a highly compelling rodent with the DeathAdder.

Hit the jump for the full review.

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mouse, mice, razer, hardware, gaming mouse, kick ass, reviews, gaming mice, deathadder

Posted 08/28/08 at 11:00:00 AM by David Murphy

Taking a cue from ViewSonic’s playbook, Westinghouse’s L2610NM produces a crappy image out of the box. We haven’t seen a display ship with such a whited-out picture in a long time.

And unlike ViewSonic’s VX2240w, adjusting the L2610NM’s brightness and contrast settings does little to help matters.

More of this sin against nature after the jump.

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monitor, monitors, hardware, lcd monitor, westinghouse, reviews, lcd roundup, l2610nm, 26-inch

Posted 08/27/08 at 02:00:00 PM by David Murphy

Size is important, but so is quality. Hannspree’s 27.5-inch HF289HJB fits the former just fine, but its average performance makes us yearn for a better-quality picture to fill the massive screen.

Dim news after the jump.

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monitors, hardware, lcd monitor, reviews, lcd roundup, hannspree, 27.5-inch, hf289hjb

Posted 08/27/08 at 01:00:00 PM by Michael Brown

TBI Audio Systems bowled us over last year with its passive Majestic Diamond peakers; the company recently sent us the follow-up to those speakers (the Majestic Diamond IR) along with the new hybrid-powered Millennia MG3 Class D amplifier. (Buying the components as a package shaves $100 off the cost of acquiring them separately.)

Hybrid power means the amp can operate on either A/C power (using the included power supply) or eight AA batteries (not included). Plugging in the power adapter shuts off the batteries (but it won’t refresh any rechargeable batteries you might be using). Add a set of strong passive speakers and a digital media player capable of playing tracks encoded using a lossless codec (we used Cowon’s FLAC-friendly A3) and you have a fabulous audio system you can listen to just about anywhere.

Read on for the full review.

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mobile, hardware, consumer electronics

Posted 08/27/08 at 11:00:00 AM by David Murphy

Dell’s 2408WFP is the latest in the company’s line of 24-inch panels, following on the heels of the much-beloved Dell 2407WFP (reviewed September 2006). Unfortunately for Dell, improving upon its predecessor isn’t enough to push the 2408WFP above other tested displays.

That said, there's much to like about the 2408WFP after the jump.

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monitor, dell, monitors, hardware, 24-inch, lcd monitor, reviews, lcd roundup, 2408wfp

Posted 08/26/08 at 02:00:00 PM by David Murphy

It’s no secret that the expensive Samsung 245T hosts an S-PVA panel beneath its slim black exterior. But this display’s performance is certainly worth the price. The 245T offers a stunning picture for its class, trumping our longtime favorite 24-inch panel, Dell’s 2407WFP, and even its latest rev, the 2408WFP.

This 1920x1200 display boasts a 97-percent color gamut and the effect is clear. The 245T dishes out notably vibrant blues, reds, and greens, and its color saturation remains strong at even very light levels. To us, the display’s colors feel just right: crisp and bold without any hint of oversaturation. But even if you disagree, the monitor comes with a number of preset options for tweaking the coloration to your exact preferences. We found success using the Mild preset, as Normal made images appear drab and Brilliant made our images look like a supernova.

Check out this superb display post-jump.

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samsung, monitors, hardware, 24-inch, lcd monitor, kick ass, reviews, lcd roundup, 245t