Mighty Gadget Blog: The latest technology news & reviews in the UK

BenQ are setting their targets straight at the gamers with this monitor. Being a 24" LCD monitor is can handle 1920x1600 resolutions for your PC, which also means it can handle full 1080p resolution if you want to plug your PS3/Blue Ray in. The unit comes with D-sub / DVI-D / HDMI inputs so you can have your PC through the DVI-D, PS3 through HDMI and 360 or Wii through the D-sub.

Apparently this has been slapped with a $605 RRP, however I have actually just ordered one myself from Pixmania for a shockingly low price of £283 inc Vat. It has not arrived yet so I will report back on how good it is when it arrives.

Personally I am not expecting it to be amazing but at that price I just cant say no. I have been looking around at monitors for a few weeks and I know that 22" are the sweet spot for pricing at the moment with some available for around £150, but I cant help think that 1680x1050 wont feel much bigger than 1280x1024(my current res). I think at 1920x1600 it will feel like I will have a massive amount of extra real estate.

I have also had to treat myself to a nice new 8800 GT to ensure my computer can handle that res. Though I do realise that the GTs start struggle a little compared to the GTX at this res however I cant really justify the £300+ needed for a GTX.

*Edit* nVidia have now officially launched the 8800 GTS 512 MB at a retail price of about £220

Any day now we will see the arrival of the new and updated GeForce 8800 GTS which will sport an additional cluster of 16 shader processor, bringing up the total to 112. The same amount as the new GeForce 8800 GT. The core and shader clocks along with the memory frequency and bandwidth will be the same as the old version. This updated version thus uses the same G80 core, just less crippled. However there have also been some talk about another GeForce 8800 GTS, but that this next one will be based on the G92 core.

This new version would then sport the more traditional 512/1024 MB memory configurations and a whole 128 shader processors, and all of the advantages of the new core which the G80 lacks. For example the updated features of PureVideo HD, PCIe 2.0 and overall lower power consumption.

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It would seem that Super Mario Galaxy is living up to the hype. 1up.com recently reviewed it giving it 9.5/10.

In short, Galaxy is one of the most impressive, engrossing games in recent memory -- and quite the contrast to the rest of this year's triple-A gaming crop, which tends toward the dark, the M-rated, and the first-person perspective. Gaming may be growing up (per se), but gamers will always appreciate beautifully polished gameplay and inventive design...even if it's sugarcoated with squeaky baby stars and a goofy cartoon of a hero. Galaxy proves that Mario matters just as much today as he did 25 years ago, and that makes him one of a kind in this medium. But don't play Galaxy simply because Mario is the timeless godfather of gaming. No, play Galaxy because it's fantastic.

Super Mario Galaxy is due for release on the November 16, 2007 and is available from Amazon for £32.99

Pictures and Trailer follow

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It quite a good week if you are a PC Gamer. As of yesterday (29/10/07) Nvidia has started shipping its revised GeForce 8800 GT based on the new G92 architecture that uses the 65nm fabrication process, as opposed to the G80 architecture(90nm). The GeForce 8800 GT is designed to be a midrange card costing between $200 and $250 but with the new architecture they have managed to produce a card somewhere between the 2 high end cards, the 8800 GTS and GTX. Read the rest of this entry »

I bought a modded Xbox a few years ago and primarily used it as a media server. In fact I only replaced it when i built a dedicated media PC and I still miss it. Lifehacker has recently written a guide to modding your xbox into a Media Centre. This technique uses a soft mod so there is no need to even open the Xbox.
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The first piece of design to come out of HP’s acquisition of Voodoo has finally been unveiled, and the Blackbird 002 is easily the company’s most striking PC yet. It’s water-cooled, it looks like it’s hovering and it’s even compatible with both SLI and Crossfire and will also have PhysX options
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One of the major limitations preventing genuinely massive simultaneous online gaming is the abysmal state of consumer-grade Internet bandwidth. Microsoft Research hopes to change that and make the dreams of many gamers come true with a new technology called Donnybrook.

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Ok so this apparently is very much a rumor and not firm truth but Ars Technica is reporting the Sony is releasing a 40gig version of the PS3 this holiday season (I presume this means Christmas) for the bargain price of $400 (£200) and also reducing the price of the 80gig (though I am sure its 60gig!) version to $500 (£250). Ok so I doubt us Brits are going to see it this year nor at them prices but it would be great if this is true. I personally have put off getting the PS3, I already own a 360 and Wii.

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