Diamond XtremeSound 7.1/24 bit Sound Card ( XS71 ) Review

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(More customer reviews)I left Creative's sound blaster USB because they did not support Vista; I searched Amazon and found The Diamond by searching for "Vista sound Cards", I ordered it overnight, it arrived, but the software did not work with Vista although the generic windows driver does.
I called Diamond, because the card inside said "Do not return to vendor call us first." I did and was told, impatiently, that the box did not say Vista and that I should return it to Amazon.
So I am going to keep it, it does work, where the Creative did not. I received about half of what I thought I had bought.
Amazon showed this under a Vista search, Diamond was rude. The hassel of returning it and starting over, is too much.
So Cavet Emptor - be careful, make sure it is what you want, if it does not say Vista do not buy it no matter what the website claims.
Diamond has performed well in the past.
And, yes, I should have been more careful, I was too easily misled, by my pressing need for sound, and my desire to get on with it.
Ken


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Diamond's XtremeSound 7.1 Sound Card helps you improve your sound Experience for MP3s, Games, Movies, Music and more! Diamond Xtreme Sound allows the user to experience high level, theater quality sound while watching videos, listening to music, and playing games all in true 7.1 channel surround sound. Dolby EX and DTS formats for 6.1/7.1 channel DVD playback at 24bit/96khz; 48k/16bit recording; 7.1 virtual speaker shifter providing surround sound for CDs and MP3s, PCI 2.2 interface with bus mastering and burst modes. System requirements include 850mhz CPU, available PCI slot, 128MB of RAM, a CD-ROM drive, amplified speakers, and Windows 2000 or later.

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Gateway DX4200-09 - Tower - 1 x Phenom X4 9100e / 1.8 GHz - RAM 4 GB - HDD 1 x 640 GB - DVD?RW / DVD-RAM - Radeon HD 3200 - Mdm - Gigabit Ethernet - Vista Home Premium 64-bit - Monitor : none Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my second Gateway desktop. Not much over a year ago a model like this was selling for about $200 more. Yet, now, you get a 64 bit system (crunches data much faster), a quad core that hardly anything can slow down, big hard drive, and a good quality of design and construction.
Also important is the quality of Gateway support: the one question with my previous model was handled via a chat session with a tech who knew what he was talking about and was very professional.
The Vista SP1 which it ships with has been a pleasant experience. It's best to discount all the dissing it gets and just see how well it works in practice. There is a learning curve if you are coming from XP, but it is worth getting to know. I like it. I probably would like Apple's Leopard operating system, too, but I don't care to pay anywhere from two to six times as much for their machines.
I just surf the web, do light photo and video processing, and watch a movie on it sometimes. For these tasks this machine is overqualified - a dual core machine would do about as well. But, how about a few years from now? A quad core machine may well be necessary for these or similar tasks then.
A little confession: I took my previous Gateway desktop apart to replace the motherboard with a newer type. I was impressed with the quality of design and construction. The Apple desktop which starts at around $2500 would impress me much more, but I don't need its particular qualities for what I do with a computer.
You ought to know that the setup of this machine was the sweetest, most trouble free computer installation I have ever done. It just goes out and does practically everything for you. That is thanks to Vista and Gateway's well thought out systems.
The hard drive is a Western Digital, which has a good reputation. But start backing up as soon as possible after you finish the OS installation. By the way, there are no disks to load into the machine. It's all on the hard drive already.
My first backup after I had finished most of the setup to the point where I am happy with what is on the machine took up just 18.1GB on an old Maxtor 80GB external drive I had from a few years ago using an excellent backup software called ShadowProtect which has gotten excellent reviews and I would call it the easiest and best software of that type I have ever used.
You get 586GB free on the hard drive as it comes from the factory with the Vista and a small partition which I believe holds a recovery version. So, forget 640GB. The actual space you get is noticeably less that what is stated - it's always that way.
The ATI Radeon HD3200 onboard video chipset is fine for any ordinary use. Heavy gamers will have to pay another $100 or more for a video card such as the Sapphire ATI HD4830 which joins its power with the onboard unit to give much better gaming performance. I have that card which I will install shortly and leave some thoughts on how much better it is. You will also need a good power supply to go along with the HD4830 card. Corsair makes some good ones supplying 520 watts and up. Just around $100 as well. So, when you want to, this machine is upgradable.
I ran a cleanup of the unneeded files and also did a defragmentation for better disk performance at startup. The defrag took much less time than my previous Gateway. Vista SP1? 64 bit? Anyway, that's an improvement.
Also, gigabit ethernet may not be anything you need now, but in a few years with streaming video heading this way, you might be glad you have it. There were no problems whatsover with making the ethernet cable connection with my motorola modem/router. I didn't have to do a thing. Plug in the cable and forget it.
This has an onboard video out in the form of HDMI and VGA, which is what I'm using. The image quality to my HP 2207 monitor is excellent.
If you have this shipped to you, try to restrain the urge to rip open the package until a couple of hours have passed for it to warm up to room temperature so that there will not be condensation on the cold computer during winter shipping from moisture in the inside air.
It ships with a large, easy setup sheet. Just follow the color coding. You can't go wrong. In an hour and a half or so you will be through with the basic setup, but it may take five to ten hours of downloading and installing your favorite software to complete the installation.
Also important is the merchant: J&R Music And Computer World in New York. I have bought a few items from them during the past few years and they ship fast (I get it the next day near Boston with standard shipping) and seem to be straight shooters. Let you know how the graphics card install goes.
UPDATE AFTER 6 MONTHS:
No problema! Hardware is solid, dependable, certainly fast enough for me. It's still a great buy. I haven't even used half the hard drive space yet, so I would say for most people it has plenty. Card readers and CD/DVD units are still fine. Sound quality from the built in chip is excellent for playing my 20GB of music on my Klipsch powered speaker system. Just no complaints about this. It does what it should. I may upgrade to Windows 7 after the initial bugs are worked out in six months or so. Frankly, I haven't found Windows Vista to be bad - it is just something new to learn. I understand Windows 7 may use slightly less system resources and offer more eye candy for the trendy computer addicted amongst us. It has gotten good reviews in the NYT and major computer magazines. Maybe I'll put off buying a Mac.
UPDATE AFTER 8 MONTHS OF USE:
The machine went down about a month ago. No posting beep. So I upgraded my Core Two Duo HP laptop to Windows 7, installed a 320GB hard drive, increased core memory to 4GB and got a machine powerful enough to do what I had been doing on this Gateway desktop.
Not the end of the story though. Searching online forums on this model of Gateway and on the "no posting beep" symptom, I found that the problem was most likely that the core memory on the Gateway had failed. I remembered a cryptic message before it failed saying it was dropping to a slower memory speed.
So I ordered 8GB of 800Mhz DDR2 desktop memory, removed the old, installed the new core memory (relatively easy - just open the left side of the Gateway by removing two screws and pulling back and you'll find the core memory on the center right side of the motherboard and all you need to do is flip back the holding cams and pull) and, guess what! Success!!
So, my next project on this repaired desktop is to install a bigger power supply (as I said I would), a new AMD powered 4830 graphics card, and also upgrade to Windows 7, which I have found to be a much improved operating system. It gets your drivers, doesn't take long to install, and is easy, quick, in my view the best Windows operating system ever.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers G73JH-A1 17-Inch Gaming Laptop (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)In short this computer is amazing. You wont find anything else under $2000 that can beat this. It comes with a standard 2 year warrant and 1 year accidental damage warranty plus a 30 day zero bright dot policy. The included mouse and bag are also great. So far I have been playing crysis and bad company 2(a great game for your new computer) on near full detail with amazing frames with the ati radean 5870(best single graphics card for laptops), 8gb of 1066mhz ram, and the new blazing fast core i7 processor. Although the computer is the size of some 18 inchers, I found that it looked and felt amazing. The whole back, palm rest area, and keys are rubberized which provides a great feel and grip. The keys are also back lit and the speakers on the computer are very loud and provide good audio The one thing I did not like about this computer was the touch pad buttons (not the touchpad its self which is great) are combined under a plastic cover which is really hard to press down on.
Pros:
Best for the price
Back lit keyboard
rubberized feels great
Best single graphics card ati 5870 with 1gb gddr5 ram
8gb of ram is more than enough
Great processor
Cool unique look
and i can just keep going on and on..
Cons:
Touch pad buttons I find hard to press down on
Number pad on keyboard feels squished
Overall 10/10
And as I said before this is the best!
Update after about 3 months
of use
I have already lost nearly all the rubber feet which do not seem attached well (medium problem). The keyboard has a lot of light bleeding through under the ` key (minor). And the worst problems i have experienced, my computer overheats! It shuts its self down randomly and i do not believe that the fan over the CPU is working (very major). I have sent it in for RMA with asus and will post an update later.
If i could change my rating I would give it 3.5-4 stars.

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The Stealth Fighter of Gaming Laptops Take a giant leap ahead of the competition. The Republic of Gamers (ROG) G73Jh gaming notebook takes the latest games to the next level of realism with Full HD graphics at a blistering fast framerate.Featuring an Intel Core i7 processor, graphics powered by an extremely powerful DirectX 11-enabled ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 graphics processor with 1GB GDDR5 VRAM, and 8GB DDR3 of system memory, the G73Jh-A1 unleashes its hypersonic performance on your demand to render today's and tomorrow's most demanding games with ease. This subtle yet imposing gaming machine was inspired by the hard lines and silent, cool, efficiency of astealth-fighter jet, with a matte black finish and aft-venting cooling system that keeps it running cool and quiet.Plus, its 17.3-inch Full HD widescreen lets you experience the latest blockbuster movies.The G73Jh-A1 breaks away from the routine, of traditional gaming laptops with built-in overclocking feature through the exclusive ASUS CPU Level Up technology and the Power4Gear Hybrid utility –instantly giving you extreme power with a push of a button. Pre-installed with the Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium operating system (64-bit version), you'll be able to easily create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. Windows 7 is the easiest, fastest, and most engaging version of Windows yet. Better ways to find and manage files like Jump Lists and improved taskbar previews help you speed through everyday tasks. Windows 7 is designed for faster and more reliable performance, so your PC just works the way you want it to. Experience ASUS FastBoot Technology, the unique performance boost for Windows 7 made possible by ASUS's close partnership with Microsoft. With exclusive ASUS FastBoot Technology, this Windows 7-enabled ASUS notebook starts up in a staggering 30 seconds.The ASUS G73Jh is also protected with a One Year Accidental Damage Warranty protecting the notebook from drops, fire, spills, and surge.** The G73Jh-A1 also boasts 1TB of 7200RPM hard drives (500GB x 2), high-speed wireless N (802.11 b/g/n @2.4GHz), ASUS CPU Level Up performance boost, Blu-ray combo drive, Bluetooth v2.1, HDMI connectivity, a 2.0Mp camera, DirectX 11 support, and Altec Lansing speakers with EAX Advanced HD 4.0 sound.With a 3DMark06 score of 13,667* the G73Jh-A1 is the tool to get to obliterateyour enemies. The Republic of Gamers (ROG) is the leading brand in PC gaming innovation. Birthed from the finest ASUS products dedicated to our gamers across the world, ROG is now a signature for highly innovative, gamer-centric notebooks, video cards, and motherboards.Through extensive research and development, ROG products feature not only superior graphics, design, and performance but specialize in delivering unique features that optimize them for the highest level of gaming at the best value.


Key Features

Stealth fighter inspired design with rear venting thermal design for minimum frontal heat signature (Learn more)
Intel Core i7-720QM Quad Core processor with Intel Turbo Boost Technology to boost base speed from 1.6GHz to a maximum Turbo Boost speed of 2.8GHz (Learn more)
ASUS CPU Level Up and Power4Gear Hybrid to save battery life and delivers extreme performance on-demand (Learn more)
Brilliant 17.3-inch Full HD LED-backlit widescreen for an vibrant and immersive cinematic experience with resolution up to 1920 x 1080 (Learn more)
Latest and best mobile graphics processor powered by ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 with 1GB GDDR5 VRAM for unprecedented gaming performance with DirectX 11 support (Learn more)
64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium for a faster and more reliable operating system
8GB of DDR3 RAM for ultra-fast gaming and multitasking computing (Learn more)
1TB (2x 500GB) 7,200RPM hard drives for fast and convenient storage for all your games and media (Learn more)
Blu-ray combo drive for watching the latest Blu-ray movies in Full HD and brilliant clarity
High-speed Wi-Fi networking (802.11 b/g/n @2.4 GHz) + Bluetooth v2.1
Integrated 2.0 megapixel webcam and Digital Array Mic for video calls with your friends and family
Illuminated and slanted ergonomic gaming keyboard with numeric keypad gives you complete control in any lighting environment for comfortable gaming hours-on-end (Learn more)
Altec Lansing speakers and EAX Advanced HD Audio to bring out the best in environmental simulation in surround sound technology (Learn more)
Complimentary Republic of Gamers backpack and 3200DPI laser gaming mouse
Warranty: 2 year ASUS 360 global warranty and 1 year Accidental Damage Warranty with 30-day Flawless Display Guarantee

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Uncompromised Performance for the Next-Gen Gamer
Enjoy Vibrant Media
Aerodynamic Design
Built with one of the World's Most Intelligent Notebook Processors
ASUS Makes Your Windows 7 Experience Better
ASUS 360** -- 2 Year Global Warranty
ASUS ADW** -- 1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty**
What's in the Box
ROG G73Jh-A1
Deluxe Republic of Gamers Backpack
Deluxe ROG Laser Gaming Mouse (3200DPI, adjustable DPI)
AC Adapter
8 cell Battery Pack
Warranty Information Card
Specifications
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Display: 17.3-inch Full HD LED-backlit Widescreen (1920 x 1080)
CPU: Intel Core i7 processor 720QM (1.60GHz-2.8GHz Quad-Core)
Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 VRAM
Wireless: 802.11 b/g/n (@ 2.4GHz), Bluetooth v2.1
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM, 4 x SODIMM (up to 8GB)
Storage: 1TB 7200RPM hard drive (500GB x 2) dual HDD
Optical Drive: Blu-ray combo drive (BD-ROM + DVD-R/W)
Camera: 2.0 Megapixel
Speakers: Altec Lansing speakers with EAX 4.0 sound
Microphone Digital Array Microphones
Card Reader: 8-in-1 card reader (MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory stick/MS Pro/MS-Duo/MS-Pro Duo)
Input/ Output: 1 x Mic-in, 1 x Headphone-out, 1 x VGA port/Mini D-Sub 15-pin for external monitor, 4 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x Gigabit LAN,1 x HDMI, 1 x Kensington Lock
Battery Pack: 8 cell
Dimensions: 12.56 x 16.38 x 2.25 ~ 0.08 –inches
Weight: 7.48 lbs. (with 8 cell battery and single HDD)
Color: Matte Black * Score may vary. Tested with Intel Core i7-720QM processor, 8GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD5870 with 1GB GDDR5 VRAM. ** For notebooks purchased on or after Sept. 10, 2007. The ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty covers "ASUS" brand notebooks only, and does NOT extend to: "Built on ASUS," "ASMobile," "Powered by ASUS," the Eee PC, or some other models. These retailers are currently among the companies that do NOT participate in the ASUS 360 Notebook Service Program and Accidental Damage Warranty: Best Buy, MicroCenter, and The Source by CircuitCity in Canada. Limit of one claim per notebook for Accidental Damage Warranty. ASUS reserves the right to discontinue this program and to modify the terms and conditions thereof at any time. ASUS Accidental Damage Warranty Program starts from the date of your ASUS notebook purchase, when all the requirements are met. One incident covered per notebook. † According to RESCUECOM's consumer reliability report Q1 2009 and Q2 2009.Rated number 1 Windows-based PC maker in PCMag.com's Service & Reliability Report 2009. Rated number 1 PC brand according to SquareTrade, the leading direct-to-consumer warranty company (for more information visit http://www.squaretrade.com/pages/laptop-reliability-1109/ ). All specifications and terms are subject to change without notice. Please check with your supplier for exact offers on selected models. Products may not be available in all markets. Product may not be exactly as shown in photos. Celeron, Celeron Inside, Centrino, Centrino Inside, Core Inside, Intel, Intel Logo, Intel Atom, Intel Atom Inside, Intel Core, Intel Inside, Intel Inside Logo, Intel Viiv, Intel vPro, Itanium, Itanium Inside, Pentium, Pentium Inside, Viiv Inside, vPro Inside, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

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ASUS N61JQ-B2 16-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Dark Brown) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the asus n61jq-b2(blue ray version) and was very unhappy when I couldn't open any programs out of the box without the system freezing up on me! I tried everything from removing blote-ware, to moving the few files (pictures and music) that I put on the C drive along with the OS, to the D drive which was empty. that did not fix the issue, I finally reformated the C drive and re-installed the Windows 7 OS. now this computer is running like a dream. I have a desktop with intel q6700and 4g of 800 mhz ram to compare it with and it is faster. dont know what caused the problem, but the reinstall saved me from returning the unit. this laptop also came with 1333mhz ram not the posted 1066mhz. just a little bonus. It also runs very cool compared to my old hp laptop. I am very happy with my purchase and impressed with the new intel i7-740QM. 5 stars for the money. and one last thing. Don't let the brown color scare you, it can pass as black.

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JBL CS6100BG High Performance, complete 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System with Brackets (Black Gloss) Review

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(More customer reviews)A few weeks back, I decided it was time to replace my 12 year old Sony TV and 17 year old "stereo" system with its two cheap speakers.
End result, after lots of research, was the purchase of the following, all from Amazon.
- Samsung LN40A650 LCD TV
- Onkyo TX-SR606
- JBL CS6100 6-Piece Home Cinema Speaker Package
- Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote
Also connected are;
- Scientific Atlanta cable set top box from Time Warner
- Sony SLV-D300P DVD/VCR which is 2-3 years old
- Nintendo Game Cube
Installation was in a 20'x30' room.
My goals were to have a high quality TV with decent sound, and keep the entire cost under $2500 if at all possible. Goal achieved, even with the purchase of the incidentals; some speaker wire, banana clips for speaker cables, an optical digital audio, cable, etc.
- Speakers... even if you go to all of the places you can visit to hear speakers, you have no idea how they will actually sound in your own environment. And, speakers are an object thing. My concerns here were that the only review I could find on the audiophile web sites was for the smaller CS480 speakers. the CD480s have a single woofer and tweeter in satellites vs. the dual woofers in the CS6100 package. The reviews of the CD480s indicated that they were a bit bright, a bit lacking in mid-range under some conditions. I don't find that to be the case with the CS6100s, maybe because of the dual woofers. Having all the mounting hardware in the box is a real plus, and they give you two choices of mounts, fixed and swivel. Enough high quality speaker wire in the box for a medium sized room. Sub-woofer speaker cable included. A nice, classy look as well..
The opening sequence from Top Gun (with the windows closed and the wife gone)was the first test. No disappointment here. Next, a bit of Opera. Again, they performned well. Country and classical music, movies with dialogue... these do a very nice job and compare VERY well with speakers which cost twice as much.
A definite "I'd buy again".


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Got your widescreen HDTV for your living room?That's only part of the experience.HDTV sound goes beyond 2-channel stereo, dividing sound into 5 channels.Get yourself a 5.1 channel surround receiver and add these speakers and you've got home theater to enjoy and love!JBL's CS6100 6-Piece Home Cinema Speaker Package is a high-performance home-theater speaker system that beautifully complements your living room.The four satellites, matching horizontal center, and 300-watt (peak) subwoofer deliver unbelievable sound.The satellites and center channel feature JBL's advanced titanium-laminate dome tweeters and dual 3-1/2" drivers for unsurpassed power and realism.The voice-matched center channel speaker uses components that are identical to those used in the satellites for seamless pans.The black, high-gloss finish brings a touch of attractive contemporary design to your home and complements any flat-panel television.Wall brackets are included for the satellites and center channel.

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