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CES 2012: Dell have plans to launch their first consumer tablet late this year, where it will face not only strong competition, but will go head-to-head with releases between now and then, too. With Apple and Samsung playing the David and Goliath battle in the consumer tablet market, how can Dell do something different to make customers not just want, but need their tablet.

Dell have had a successful lead in the boxed PC/notebook build-to-order market, but even now, they face slim profits and a market that doesn't quite want desktops or notebooks, as much, anymore. The enterprise-focused Streak tablet from Dell was just a test, and now they want some of that consumer tablet pie.

Chief Commercial Officer, Steve Felice, said at CES this week:

Microsoft have shuffled their feet a little bit and released two patches for AMD's Bulldozer platform according to the AMD Blog. AMD note that the AMD FX processors sport a unique dual-core module architecture codenamed "Bulldozer", which current versions of Windows 7 were not specifically architected to utilize.

In AMD's initial testing of the upcoming Windows 8 OS, they've seen performance improvements of up to 10-percent in some applications when compared to Windows 7. This comes down to the fact that the system correctly recognizes the AMD FX processor architecture, and cores. AMD put this down to a close collaboration between Microsoft and AMD, where Microsoft completed back-porting of some of the Windows 8 scheduler code for AMD FX processors and baked it into a hotfix, now available, for Windows 7.

If you're an owner of an AMD FX-based processor, here's some instructions to update Windows 7 and enjoy the extra performance:

CES 2012: Mad Catz have just introduced a very interesting looking console controller. Enter the Mad Catz officially-licensed Major League Gaming (MLG) Pro Circuit controller for the Xbox 360. How is this different to any other controllers, you ask? Well, Mad Catz teamed up with Major League Gaming for one, and second, they engineered a high-end Xbox 360 gaming controller that must be not just seen, but used in order to appreciate.

It sports slip-deterring rubberized grips, a robust braided cable, and just looks beautiful. One thing that Mad Catz have changed up is that the directional pad and thumb sticks are, wait for it, modular. You can rip these puppies out and swap them around! If you like your Xbox 360-style controller, keep it as is. If you like the PlayStation 3-style (where the thumb sticks are side-by-side), then pull them out and change it. Feel like a cool kid? Well, keep it custom and do it your own way.

Not only are the ProModule components swappable, but Mad Catz sell ProModule kits (sold seperately) which provide all sorts of different colors, tensions, lengths and textures. As well as that, removable top and side faceplates are available in both matte and glossy finishes, right out of the box. Additionally, the MLG Pro Circuit Controller even comes with a ProCase, so you can throw you controller, accessories, cover and cable all into the bag and run out the door to your pro-gaming competition, or just a friends house.

CES 2012 - This morning we ventured out to the Las Vegas Country Club where the folks over at ioSafe held one of their now famous CES demo-lition events. In previous years they've done things like take media to a shooting arrange to blast the hell out of their drives and have done other things like run over the drive with massive earth movers and such.

This year Robb Moore and his team at ioSafe decided to do something new and setup a "Cage of Death" with a near enough to one million volt Tesla coil operated by Telsa expert Doctor Megavolt. Media were put into a nearby cage at a fairly safe distance from the proceeding bolts of lightning and inside the main cage the brand new ioSafe Thunderbolt drive was put to the test to see how it could with standard an extreme amount of electricity coming right at the device.

After the demo CEO Robb Moore of ioSafe reconnected the drive back to the system and it ended up working just fine. There were a few other little "magic tricks" during the show but we cannot reveal that at this stage since other media are still going to be attending the event tomorrow. The main message was that ioSafe is very serious about protecting your data and will go to big lengths to make that happen.

CES 2012: We RumorTT'd about this a few days ago, but speaking at a "roundtable with reporters" at CES, Sony's Kaz Hirai answered a question about the possibility of the PlayStation 4 being shown off at E3 later this year. Hirai said:

Now, I'd like to go on record and call BS on this statement of a "10-year cycle", and at least bet we'll see a PS4 before the PS3 has been out for 10 years. Also, wouldn't it be perfect to pretend to let your guard down "hey guys, we're not teasing the PS4 at E3", while Sony are sitting there waiting for Microsoft to either unveil a new console, or hold off expecting Sony to not have anything.

Thank you, Reddit. For being one of the biggest sites on the Internet opposed to the ridiculous, corrupt crap that is SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). We've covered it a few times now and I'm completely, 100-percent opposed to it. This is something where everyone needs to be aware, and pass news around as much as possible to make others aware.

If SOPA is passed, everything you know about the Internet will change, completely. It will not be the same. It's pretty much the censorship of the entire Internet. Reddit, being as strong as they are, and very community-based, are fighting against it. Reddit will be blacking out their entire site on January 18 from 8am-8pm EST (1300-0100 UTC) as a protest.

Reddit will simply display a message about how the PIPA/SOPA legislation would shut down sites like Reddit, and they'll link users to resources where they can learn more, and suggest ways they can take action. They'll also showcase the live video stream of the House hearing, where Internet entrepreneurs and technical experts will be testifying.

CES 2012: Something that has been needed for a while is external graphics for notebooks, but bandwidth has always been an issue. How do you solve this? Well, if you're MSI, you wait until Thunderbolt hits, wait until CES and then show it off in person.

MSI showed off "GUS II", which is a prototype at this stage and was hooked up to a MacBook Pro. GUS II had a Radeon HD 5770 rocking inside, and was rendering the Unigine Heaven demo, driving an external display. Better yet, MSI says that GUS II supports double-wise PCI-Express x16 graphics cards, with power consumption up to 150W. This is the most power available from a single PCIe slot, plus one 6-pin power connector.

Pricing and availability are, as usual, not known at this time. But, with Intel's 22nm Ivy Bridge processors, we could see Thunderbolt pulled into the mainstream and then we could see a sudden rush of external graphics. This means notebooks could be sold with integrated graphics and if you wanted any more GPU juice out of them, you could tap some Thunderbolt-powered external graphics.

CES 2012 - Earlier on today we visited the Sapphire hotel suite at the MGM Grand here at CES in Las Vegas where we met up with Bill who was kind enough to give us an introduction to some of the new toys they had on display.

First up we got a quick look at Sapphire's X79 motherboard along with their Radeon HD 7970 video card where Bill mentioned they are seeing good performance since both products are able to support PCI-E 3.0.

Next up we got a look at Sapphire's first AMD based Mini-PC called the Edge-HD3 and it is based on the AMD APU E450 processor which is clocked at 1.6GHz and Radeon HD6320 graphics. It comes with 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB HDD, USB 3.0 and more. Bill mentioned they are currently at pre-production level and they should be shipping around the middle of February and go on sale for around $300 USD.

CES 2012: Microsoft announced during their final CES keynote that the Windows 8 beta will be released to their darling public late next month. On top of the release of the public beta of Windows 8, Microsoft will also launch the Windows Store.

Microsoft's Windows Store is their central repository for Metro applications. Windows Store will be available globally, and will support every language that Windows supports, which is great. At this point in time, there was no talk of the release candidate, but if we're seeing a public beta next month, we should expect a single release candidate of Windows 8, just like Windows 7 had.

It is worth pointing out that when compared to Windows 7, Windows 8's development is slightly lagging when on a calendar basis. The Windows 7 beta was released to the public on January 10th, while the Windows 8 beta arrives 6 weeks later. There was a 9.5 month gap between the Windows 7 public beta and retail availability, so we should expect Windows 8 toward the end of the 2012. Maybe on December 21, 2012 and that's what the Mayan's meant by the end of the world? Gasp.

CES 2012 - First on the list of cool offerings from Thermaltake in the add-on market is the Max 5 Duo. This hady 5.25" bay device offers quite a bit in one small package. This bay device not only offers a 2.5" and 3.5" hot swap hard drive bays that are powered with a single power lead, and of course each drive gets its own SATA connection in the back. Another added feature to this unit is the dual USB 3.0 ports to allow those with chassis to put two more high speed ports on the board as long as you have multiple native USB 3.0 20-pin connections.

Thermaltake has also moved into the USB charging market. What I found here is that they are now going to offer a multitude of USB charging solutions, some with additional power outlets as well as the USB charging ports. Every device you buy these days comes with a wall charger of some sort, but here strides are taken to make then not only more universal to just detach the factory plug ends and use these devices, but there are going to be regional offerings with the appropriate power plugs, but Thermaltake took it even one step further with dual port, car lighter, USB charging devices.

Under the Toughpower moniker, that we are used to from Thermaltake's power supplies, they are now going to be delivering a 90W and a 120W universal laptop power supplies. These units are used just as you would use a factory equipped version, but with the universal tips supplied with these units, the possibilities of what can be powered or what devices batteries can be charged with it, the list is pretty much endless.

CES 2012: BenQ's two XL Series Gaming Monitors have been teased previously, but have now been announced to launch in North America at CES. The XL Series comes in a bunch of sizes, 17-, 19-, 21.5-, 22-, 23- and 24-inch, with pricing at of the XL2420T and XL2420TX at $549 and $649, respectively.

The XL2420T and XL2420TX were engineered in conjunction with ZOWIE GEAR, who are a manufacturer of high-end professional gaming gear and R&D partner to BenQ. President of BenQ America Corp., Lars Yoder, says:

CES 2012 - Does anyone remember the Thermaltake Armor Series cases? Well it is making a comeback! Thermaltake took styling cues from the original Armor chassis with the aluminum wings on the front of the chassis, but the left side panel is a newer design. As with most of the top end chassis from Thermaltake, this chassis comes in both black and a Snow Edition you see here.

Since Thermaltake had such a great response to the Chaser Mk 1, and the airflow that that chassis provided, along with the feature rich design, with the new Armor chassis, it uses a direct copy of the Mk 1 interior too. This now gives you even more aesthetic options to the Chaser for those who didn't feel that design, but still liked what it had to offer.

Along with all the higher end chassis Thermaltake is offering in our near future, there is also a pair of budget friendly chassis in line to be released for the gamers who don't want to pay high end prices to get a satisfactory chassis t build in without breaking the bank. To fill this segment Thermaltake is going to offer the Commander MS-II with a chunky front bezel, and the Commander MS-III with the smoother front bezel sitting behind it.

CES 2012: Intel and mobiles have never really gone together like... peanut butter and jelly (for you Americans) and vegemite on toast (for you Australians), but this year, marks a very big change for the chip developer. During Intel's keynote presentation at CES, Liu Jun, president of Lenovo's mobile Internet division, announced the Lenovo K800 smartphone built on Intel's "Medfield" Atom platform.

The K800 sports a 4.5-inch 720p screen, HSPA+ support, runs Android 4.0 and will be available in China in Q2 of 2012. Inside, the processor is the Intel Atom Z2460 with 21Mbps HSPA+ connectivity on the China Unicom network from Intel's XMM 6260 chipset. Lenovo also showed off its IdeaPad K2110, a 10-inch Android 4.0-based tablet, powered again, by Intel's Medfield.

The Medfield goodness didn't stop though, Motorola Mobility CEO, Sanjay Jha announced that Motorola and Intel had entered into a "multiyear, multidevice strategic partnership," with Motorola's first Atom-powered phones to ship in the second half of this year.

CES 2012 - We all know the Phantom chassis NZXT delivered a while ago, and readers of my reviews will soon be reading about the all red version of the Phantom 410. Here we have a trio of what was explained to me as the customer choice versions of the Phantom 410. The blue on white, white on black, and orange on black are all striking choices to buy. There is also an all gun metal grey version, but that chassis did not make it to CES.

After taking the last image I looked up, and behind it on another table was a new chassis that has yet to release that was modded to honor the Los Angeles Police with a futuristic, almost Judge Dred looking Switch 810 chassis. Not only was this chassis sort of wore torn in the design, it offers custom grills and etchings on the window to deliver the full effect of the mod.

On the right side of the Switch 810, there is a futuristic mural of what looked to be a police vehicle in a downtown cityscape. Once again I showed this variant of the Switch 810, as I know you all like the modded chassis as much as I do!

CES 2012 - The first cooler I want to discuss is another AIO water cooler making it to the scene. Here we have an image of the Water 2.0 Pro which is made to replace the older Big Water solutions. Thermaltake has joined with Asetek to deliver this thick radiator version with dual fans on it, but there is a slimmer radiator version also with dual fans, and the third of the group is a dual 120mm radiator version, and again ships with two fans.

I apologize up front, as I wasn't able to get a look at the new Frio Extreme as well as Cameron did in his video the other night. This is a direct competitor to the D-14 and all other variants of the dual tower concept, but is also rumored to outperform all of those in this category. Another thing noteworthy is the control module in this hardware kit that allows PWM or forced 12V to both fans on the cooler with the flick of a switch. Time will tell as these samples arrive to my door, and I get to do my own testing and see just how well it performs.

Next in line is a new addition to the Contact line of coolers. The Contact 39 is a single tower cooler boasting three 8mm heat pipes that make direct contact to the processors IHS. Along with this tall stack of aluminum Thermaltake is maximizing the potential of the Contact 39 by using a pair of 120mm fans to cool this tower as much as possible.

CES 2012 - As I walked the room with Shannon Robb at my side pointing out all the new goodies at the NZXT meeting I just had with them earlier today, I was led to this awesomely amazing customization of the Level 10 GT. I was told this has been a project that was in the works for over six months, and with use of something called Balsa foam, Dan delivers the most amazing Level 10 on the planet!

This is really the case mod that keeps on giving. Every bit was hand carves and offers details that you might miss at first glance, and you can actually sit here for hours looking at all the fine detail and leaving you to find all of the hidden treasures. For instance, there is the pyramid window which is more obvious, but things like the little god under the headphone rack, he is actually gripping an Xbox controller. Also on top of all the fine work done to the chassis, there is an artificial moss applied here and there to make the chassis appear as if it has been sitting out in the forest and was just discovered next to a Mayan temple.

Even on the back of the chassis the brickwork is top notch and the Mayan calendar with the Tt logo in the center inspired me to ask the question is this chassis designed to self destruct on 12/21/12, but Shannon jokingly answered "no, but there is the coolest BSOD that will happen on that date." Of course he was just kidding, there is nothing really going to happen then!

CES 2012 - Since the release of the Hydro Series H80 cooler I tested some time back, there was a special connection that was in the head unit of this AIO cooling solution. After the H80, I was also finding this connection of the H100, and even the Dynamic LED display for the Dominator GT memory. These odd connectors have been rumored to have a controller module on the way that with the use of software as you see in the image above, will allow full control over potentially every cooling device with a 3-pin or 4-pin fan header. That isn't all though! As you can also see in that image this unit is completely software controlled. So with just a few clicks of the mouse, you can choose any Corsair chassis image to back the temperature readings, and even upload other case images into the software if you plan to add this to a non-Corsair solution.

This device is very modular and allows you to take the main module (denoted with an arrow) that fits in a 3.5" drive bay making installation super simple. Not only can you control the fan speeds, pump speeds, set fan speed profiles or choose one already provided, you can also hook LED light strips to the Link. This even goes further than you think. Most assume you are going to get on/off control, or possibly dimming of the lighting, but on top of that, there are sliders to give you full access to the RGB spectrum.

Along with the main module, you do need to attach a module to control the fans, and a module to control the lighting, but as I discussed the system further with them, I was made aware that you can keep stacking fan and lighting modules on the main Link systems 8 ports. So if you want to control every fan and light your case like an airport runway, the Link from Corsair will give you everything you need at the click of a mouse. Stay tuned to the reviews section as well. I was told the Link just released today, and it's possible I may have one on my door step when I return from CES.

CES 2012 - Corsair has taken the Obsidian Series of chassis design in a slightly different direction. While the original 800D was a show stopper, and the 650D was no slouch either, the 550D takes on a whole new idea in what the Obsidian Series can deliver. This time around silence is the key with the 550D, but also has a few hidden surprises in store.

Part of the surprise with the 550D is that Corsair knows not everyone wants silence, and even then the 550D can be your perfect solution for a mid-tower choice in cases. On the door panel, the plate that was in place here is removable, and is also backed with a plastic duct filter that is magnetically applied to the chassis for easy of cleaning and of course opening up the side of the chassis for some forced air induction if you want to forgo the silence and cool the chassis to the best of your ability.

Even the top of the chassis offers the same solution to once again allow users to get what they want out of the chassis. It was also mentioned in the press meeting that this chassis is fully compatible with the H100, so the removal of this panel is a must in that situation, but again, you can add a pair of fans here if you aren't filling it with water cooling.

CES 2012 - As I was perusing through the vast display of Corsair product I ran across this beauty sitting amongst the various new and older flagship models of the cases on display there. I never did get a name for the artist of this piece, but I can definitely appreciate the time and effort that goes into a case mod, especially one of this magnitude!

Not only did the visible side of the chassis get the full treatment, even the side most of us leave against the wall gets gold trimmed parts to give this 400R a very steam punk, yet almost destroyed look, that I for one really like.

The top of the chassis got a new section added to the front with toggle switches now used for power with a small LCD display just behind it. The unit was not powered up, so what is actually displayed here is still a mystery.

CES 2012 - Corsair plans to take the budget chassis segment by storm with the latest addition to the Carbide Series chassis with this new 300R. Corsair is launching the 30R at just less than $90, and is rumored at this point to possibly drop below the $79.99 price point if it is at all possible to do. That leaves us a chassis that stands on its own in aesthetics externally, but also is a new interior design to allow room for a large system for those who want to house a full ATX and multiple card setup, but don't want to spend $150 or more to get what they want.

Of course you can see the inside of the chassis here, but the main point I wanted to make was that even with the large mesh area at the bottom of the front bezel, there are also side ventilation slits cut into the sides of the bezel in the 300R to allow even more places to let the cooler ambient air onto the chassis to deliver a cooler interior while in use. Also both sides of the bezel are very pillar like and makes for an attractive yet very functional use of the front bezel.

The tag line for this chassis from Corsair's description of the interior is "it's big where it counts." This means that while this is a mid tower solution, you will have all the room you need to get in larger video cards with the removal of the middle of the drive assembly. This chassis has only the trio of optical bays and the quartet of hard drive bays. The 300R is made to allow users the ease of room for cards without having to remove and store extra components. For most of us with gaming systems, we don't typically fill the front of the chassis, and Corsair noted this and is delivering a more basic layout to simplify and make the users experience on of ease and joy, versus frustration and an empty wallet.