The bit-tech Hardware Awards 2008

Best Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 650W

Notable Mentions: Cooler Master UCP Ultimate 900W PSU, Antec Signature 850W PSU, Corsair TX750W PSU.

be quiet! came from nowhere to launch a fantastic PSU this year - it's Dark Power Pro 650W is genuinely silent and affords absolutely fantastic efficiency and voltage performance.

The modular design works well, the bundle is great and it's not too expensive either - basically we can't ask for much more from a mid-range power supply.

A close second are the superb Cooler Master UCP 900W PSU and Antec Signature 850W PSU - both are premium units of higher voltages that fewer people need, but they yield similarly great voltages, excellent efficiency and fantastic build qualities. You get what you pay for, but they do command a price to match.


For those looking for something of better value, the Corsair TX750W PSU doesn't quite match them in efficiency but it's performance was excellent and it was really fantastic value with some great looks and a hardwearing design. Corsair has a fantastic range of PSUs and while we also really loved the excellent value HX1000W, we feel the TX750W has a wider appeal in cost and quiet running.

Best Peripherals:

Rather than give out one award for the best peripheral, we decided that there were a number of products which didn’t fit into any of the other categories, but still deserved commendation. With that in mind, we’ve picked out four products from the hundreds we’ve looked at this year and they follow below:

Matrix Orbital GX Typhoon: The GX Typhoon was a return to form for Matrix Orbital and it’s great to have the company back on stage. For a long time now, we’ve seen a lot of modders moving toward the PSOne LCD, but there were problems associated with it.

Matrix Orbital has done some work to make its software even more intuitive than we could have ever hoped – it has gone drag and drop. That means simple screens take a matter of minutes and the more complex sequences will take you less than half an hour to create.

Of course, there are things that it can’t do, but then they’re limitations you’ll find with any monochrome LCD display. Instead of trying to be a jack of all trades though, the GX Typhoon is a master when it comes to delivering information and just being an intelligent display. What’s more, the ability to attach proper add-ons to the display makes it all the more compelling.

In short, the GX Typhoon has brought the small-scale LCD back into fashion and that’s part of the reason why we love it so much.

Asus Xonar DX: Asus has been on something of a roll in the soundcard market for the last couple of years and the Xonar DX was further evidence of this. It's a cut-price version of the original Xonar D2X, but the cost reductions haven't cut out the Xonar soul and the DX is arguably a better product for this reason.

The PCI-Express connector makes it ideal for an excuse to use these latest sockets and at around £70 it's pretty good value too if you consider that it has an excellent audio fidelity, low profile (great for slim HTPC cases) and Creative EAX emulation from the GS3D 2.0 engine.


SteelSeries Ikari mouse: The Ikari set out to change the way we think about the computer mouse, but not in some weird and whacky way – oh no. Instead, SteelSeries decided to focus on making a mouse that does what it’s supposed to do incredibly well, above all else. The best way to describe the Ikari, then, is strong and simple – SteelSeries spent a lot of time weighing up the various gimmicks features many manufacturers pack into their latest mouse designs today.

What it created was a mouse that was just a joy to use and the only extra feature was a second sensitivity profile that you could switch between without the need for any additional drivers or software. What’s more, there are only really two downsides we found with the mouse – the first being the forced ergonomics, which mean the Ikari won’t be suitable for all hand sizes and grip types, while the second is that the two thumb buttons are a little small. And that’s it. Quite simply, the Ikari is one of the best mice we’ve ever looked at and we recommend taking it for a test drive if you haven’t already!


Sumo Omni: The Sumo Omni is a strange choice for an article like this, but one we feel is thoroughly deserved. It’s one of the largest and comfiest beanbags we’ve ever had the pleasure of lounging around on – it makes for a great place to park your backside while you’re playing your favourite games of the year for hours on end.

At around a hundred quid, it’s not cheap but Sumo softens the blow with free shipping across the pond and you really get what you pay for. There’s a lot of bean for your buck here – that combined with the comfort you’ll endure while sat in the Omni make it an outstanding product.