Over the past few years, gaming on the PC has transformed from a niche hobby to a market in and of itself. More and more gaming-grade devices come out each year. Some accessories are just hype or a means to squeeze a few extra dollars out of unsuspecting customers whereas others genuinely make the gaming experience that much better. At the same time gaming hardware has also come to be synonymous with expensive hardware as gaming hardware frequently pushes the current norms and standards to their limits of usability, functionality and style (or taste in the worst case scenario). The Microsoft Sidewinder X6 tries to be the keyboard for the gamer's gamer. It features the ability to program 90 macros using 6 proprietary buttons, the number pad, and 3 banks. It has backlighting for playing the dark, cruise control, on the fly macro programming, large knobs for volume and backlight control and audio shortcut buttons. It features keys designed for quick presses and fast action. Does it deliver? Read on and Benchmark Reviews will deliver the scoop.

Figuring out what makes a good gaming mouse is always difficult. The mouse is definitely one of the most varied input devices around for computers. You find all sorts of different types of mice on the market for both gaming and regular usage. The biggest tenets of what makes a mouse good appear to be comfort and reliability. Enter the Microsoft Sidewinder X5 gaming mouse. This mouse goes for comfort by designing the mouse with the contours of a human hand in mind. It includes 2 customizable thumb buttons and a Vista shortcut button. It also features a laser tracking sensor that is capable of precision up to 2000 dpi with 3 custom dpi settings that you can change within the Intellitype software. We at Benchmark Reviews will give you the low down on this mouse.

Thermaltake, famed of their variety in air cooler selection, has just released their best performing CPU cooler: V14Pro. Claiming to have reached the highest cooling performance ever, the new V14Pro comes with the giant size 140mm fan, 6 copper heatpipes, and 98 extended copper fins. In this performance comparison, Benchmark Reviews tests the Thermaltake V14 Pro CPU cooler CL-P0471 against the best products available today.

These days it seems that cellular telephones are as commonplace as Starbucks, and motorists are communicating while behind the wheel. It shouldn't come as a surprise that twenty-four states currently enforce restrictions on cell phone use while driving. This is where the hands-free market has exploded, with numerous Bluetooth headsets making it to store shelves. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes the opportunity to test drive the Airlite 900 Bluetooth speakerphone accessory by Honeywell.

Anyone who has heard of ATI video cards has probably heard of Sapphire Technology. Sapphire is the largest producer of AMD/ATI graphics products in the world, and do far more than rebrand a product with their own label. The Radeon HD 4000 series launched with tremendous success not long ago, and Sapphire has tweaked the design to produce their own high-performance Toxic Edition of the popular Radeon HD 4870 video card. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 100243TXSR graphics card against the competition to find out if a factory-overclocked model is worth the money.

With analog broadcasts terminating in February, you can bet HDTVs will be a hot item this holiday season. What was once considered a luxury, is now becoming mainstream as many HDTVs are approaching the price points of their standard definition counterparts. Olevia is one such company making this a possibility. With their 2-series HDTVs, Olevia is bringing the award-winning technology of their high-end televisions to the average consumer. Today, Benchmark Reviews looks at the Olevia 242T FHD 42" HDTV. Believe it or not, this fully featured, 42" 1080p HDTV can be had for just $849.99.

As gaming and computer productivity become more refined, having the ability to fine-tune and customize the mouse movements becomes more crucial than ever. To help meet this challenge, SilverStone created the Raven gaming mouse. This brilliantly designed input device gives gamer and users unprecedented control over the mouse movement by not only utilizing a blistering fast laser sensor capable of 3200 dpi and 50G of acceleration, but also adds independent X & Y axis adjustments. With perfectly centered laser, 50-50 weight balance, carbon fiber surfacing, and a convenient thumb wheel that can perform quick task switching. Benchmark Reviews tests the SilverStone Raven SST-RVM01B 3D gaming mouse.

Every once in awhile a product comes along that makes you wonder why someone hadn't thought of it earlier. A product that makes so much sense yet is elegant in its simplicity. Today Benchmark Reviews takes a look at one such product, the Thermaltake BlacX. The BlacX is basically a very simple SATA to USB 2.0 adapter. What sets the BlacX apart from the typical cable style adapter is the docking station like design.