PCI-Express Roundup, X850s, and Audigy Goodness

Good morning and happy Friday to you all!  It's the end of another work week and the weekend is about to start. Personally, I can't wait to get out and enjoy some of this warm weather here in NC.  It's been in the 70s all week and I'm wearing shorts in January.  It's taking a little bit for this northern boy to get used to the warmer NC weather.  Also, thanks to HL2, I have not seen the light of day in about 3 days going on 4. I better beat this soon so I can get some kind of a life back!  Here's your morning news, have a great weekend!

PCI-Express Mainstream Roundup Part 2: nVidia 6600 and 6600GT @ Madshrimps:

"Still saving up your lunch money for a PCI Express graphics card? Salivating in anticipation for Nvidia 6600 series graphics card benchmark numbers? Or just bored enough to read part II of our PCI Express Graphics card comparison? No matter, we got you covered here as we added an Albatron 6600 and a XFX 6600GT to the mix, stirred the pot, and came up with some interesting numbers that just may change your opinion of mainstream PCI Express graphics cards."

ATI Radeon X850 XT PE and X800 XL @ Bjorn3D:

"Earlier this autumn, ATi revealed details about their new PCI-Express video cards, the X850 XT Platinum Edition (PE) and the X800 XL. While the X850 XT PE of course is the new high-end video card, the X800 XL is ATI's answer to NVIDIA's GeForce 6800 GT. ATI was kind enough to lend us two reference cards for a quick spin in some of our benchmarks."

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro @ 3dsoundsurge.com:

"The discovery is this sound card is much more than a repackaging of the Audigy 2 ZS. In fact, Victoria concludes that the Audigy 4 Pro is the card that finally delivers on the promise and hype of prior Audigy editions and in the process becomes the first sound card to earn the 3DsoundSurge Gold Medal of Excellence! [and we have been reviewing sound cards since 1998]"