Want that beast of a graphics card for your PC but not the noise that comes with it? There are now two versions of Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 680 from Asus that promise to run more quietly while enhancing performance.

Unveiled late last week, the new cards come after a slew of GeForce GTX 680s released last month, which as expected, all sported identical reference designs from Nvidia. In other words, little differentiated brand A from brand B, except for the decal on each card. …

Microsoft this week unveiled details about the upcoming Windows 8 editions, which include Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro for x86-based PCs, as well as Windows 8 RT for tablets and devices powered by ARM-based processors.

On Wednesday, the software giant shed more light on Windows 8 Enterprise, the corporate version of the operating system designed to meet the mobile productivity, security, manageability and virtualisation needs of today’s businesses. …

If the prototype of Microsoft’s Surface 2.0 unveiled last May got you excited, it’s time to ready your wallet: the SUR40 table-top computer is finally available for order.

Made in partnership with Samsung, Microsoft initially said the SUR40 will launch in late 2011, but it evidently ran into some delays. This week, we’re told the software has been further refined, and several new applications developed specially for it. …

Tired of your MacBook-toting friends boasting about their fast Thunderbolt link that lets them hook up speedy external drives, monitors and a whole host of other stuff?

Well, here’s some good news for DIY desktop builders: Asus will now include the new interface on a number of its motherboards.

Top-end models like the Maximus V Gene will come with a header onboard, called TB_Header, that lets users hook up a connector that enables their custom-built PCs to enjoy the same connectivity.
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Remember those funny Apple ads that said Macs don’t suffer from viruses and other malware, like your lousy, uncool PC?

Well, this week, in the biggest security threat yet to Apple’s computers, some 600,000 Macs were said to be affected by the Flashback trojan, which could steal passwords and other personal information from unsuspecting users.

The good news is that the malicious software is now “trending downward”, according to an advisory put out today by security firm Symantec, but it estimates that as many as 270,000 machines are still infected with it.

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When you have seen a printer, you’ve seen them all, right? At least, that’s what a lot of many small business owners like to think, when they next buy an all-in-one machine for their office or SOHO.

The Officejet Pro 8600 Plus from HP hopes to change that mindset, by essentially putting together not just the expected print features but also lots of handy features that take away the frustration of everyday tasks.
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You’ve seen the Apple iMac and other all-in-one PCs from HP, Acer and Dell make homes look a lot more stylish with their monolithic designs that integrate both screen and processing unit.

Now, your office can look as cool, while providing the needed oomph of a workstation machine. Say hi to HP’s new Z1 workstation PC that not only takes on the form of the consumer design, but also lets you snap open the screen to upgrade and replace components in the machine – something that all-in-ones never excelled in.

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For extreme PC gamers who will only settle for the fastest graphics card, and those with three monitors running in a surround gaming mode, the first top-end cards sporting Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 680 GPU are going on sale now.

Indeed, some GTX 680 cards had appeared to already gone on sale on e-retailer Newegg earlier today, perhaps to catch the early demand for these cards.

Nvidia’s answer to AMD dominance for most of 2011, the GTX 680 is based on the much-touted “Kepler” architecture and is expected to uplift DirectX 11 gameplay performance for the most hardcore PC gamers. By this, usually you mean folks with more than one monitor, because even the most demanding games often run fine on 30-inchers now.

Cards like the Asus version (pictured above) will come with 2GB RAM and be clocked at a base 1,006MHz and a “sped-up” 1,058MHz when the performance is needed. The GPU is also expected to keep to a comparatively modest 195W TDP, which should prevent the fan from sounding like a vacuum cleaner all the time, like many top-end cards can.

[UPDATE: Asus has said their GTX 680 card will retail for S$869 in Singapore]

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If you haven’t read the previous round-up of this contest, you might want to begin there as we list the best entries in this contest.

But there can only be one winner. Without further ado, let’s get the show on the road.

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Seldom do we go all ga-ga over just another notebook, especially at a time when everyone’s coming up with sexy, slim ultrabooks. But we have to bring up Samsung’s Series 9 notebooks, which simply ooze sex appeal in all the right ways.

Let’s start with the slim profile. By now, you’d expect nothing less from new premium laptops, whether they are in the “standard” ultrabook 13-inch guise or an increasingly common 15-inch version.

The Series 9 has two models that fit the bill exactly. The 15-inch version is touted as a the world’s slimmest in its class, and it’s no empty boast. At just 14.9mm thin – that’s like a small stack of credit cards – and weighing just 1.59kg, it is the simply the most portable laptop with a mid-sized screen.

Apple’s MacBook Pro 15-inch used to do it for me as the premium mid-sized laptop to match. Now, the 15-inch Series 9 looks better than that, proving that you can have a large screen while still carrying that laptop around without breaking sweat.
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