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Gigabyte GA-X79-UD7 Motherboard
"Together with the new platform Gigabyte introduced new technologies called “3D Power” and “3D BIOS”. At this time, there is still room for improvement, but even now you can enjoy broad functionality and rich feature set of the high-quality mainboard designed according to the high standards."
Zalman F1 120 GB SSD
"Can a well-known cooling product manufacturer roll out a good SSD? Yes, he can, because the second generation SandForce platform paved a very short route to the SSD market for those interested."
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
"The evolutionary Hyper 212 model now boasts new base with improved heatpipes direct-touch technology and a new fan. The cooler has also become a little pricier. Let’s find out how successful these improvements turned out to be." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 18:37:27 PST (4 reads)
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KFA2 MDT X4 GTX580 1538MB
"While Nvidia prepare to release their next series of cards we are looking at a custom GTX 580 board from KFA2 which can support up to four screens via a single card, with the promise of excellent gaming performance across three screens. It ships in an overclocked state and incorporates 3 fans for improved cooling efficiency. Today we will test across a single and three screens. Is it worth the money?"
Fractal Design Arc Midi Case
"The new Fractal Design Arc Series of cases create a niche of their own; a combination of stellar performance and cooling options with stylish, minimalistic looks and an overall understated elegance. The Arc MIDI comes with a fan controller for the 3 pre installed 140mm fans, and is capable of housing 5 additional fans between 120mm and 180mm, if required." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 18:29:37 PST (3 reads)
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Silverstone Raven 3 RV03 Case
"SilverStone's Raven 3 case ups the ante from its older siblings. While keeping the best features from the older versions, the RV03 brings some new improvements to the table. SilverStone has literally turned the case on its ear, with the mobo I/O shifted to the top and the power supply moved to the front and installed crosswise."
Antec SoundScience Halo Lighting Kit
"If you frequently stare at a monitor for hours on end while working or gaming, eyestrain is likely a common annoyance. Thankfully, you can treat your eyes to a bit of relief with the Soundscience Halo Bias Lighting kit. It installs on any monitor up to 24" and only requires a single USB port for power." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 @ 18:21:17 PST (2 reads)
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BenQ XL2420T 24" Monitor
"We’re back with another offering from BenQ. This time it’s in the form of the BenQ XL2420T 24-inch LED backlit high-performance gaming monitor. BenQ state that it’s perfect for competitive FPS games and has been co-developed with Counter-Strike legends, so we’re expecting great things from the XL2420T."
Bayan Audio Bayan 7 Speaker Dock
"If you’ve not heard of Bayan Audio before then you’ve certainly been missing out. They produce very high quality speakers with the inclusion of iPod and iPhone docks. Today we’re testing the Bayan Audio Bayan 7, which features a five way 2.1 channel stereo speaker configuration, as well as an 8-inch sub and 120W of mouth-watering power." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 @ 16:20:43 PST (2 reads)
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Thortech Thunderbolt Plus 800W PS
"Thortech is a brand that I’m sure no one has heard of before and for good reason. Until recently, the Thortech team has been part of GeIL and has handled the R&D for their PSUs for over 15 years, however it is only recently that GeIL has taken the decision to launch a new series of PSUs under the subsidiary of Thortech. I am expecting this change in branding is a PR move that signifies a higher level of performance than what GeIL power supplies were offering. Being as this is a brand new series of power supply being launched under a new brand, we’re not quite sure what to expect from Thortech!"
Anidées AI-6B Black Case
"The Anidées AI-6B has been launched with three variations; a base model that we have here, a ‘silent’ version that comes with sound proofing on the insides of the chassis, and a windowed version with a perspex cutout. Apart from this minor difference, the AI-6B comes with 3 optical drive bays, 7 hard drive bays of which come can be removed to allow for larger graphics cards to be installed, two fans, cable management, reversable front door and a Velcro strap for holding the PSU in place." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Tuesday, January 24, 2012 @ 16:12:29 PST (2 reads)
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Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB
"Today we grab a third card and see what happens when we move to a three way CrossFireX setup. Since we've already looked at the Sapphire card in full detail in our CrossFire review mentioned above, we'll be getting into the performance side of things fairly quickly today. The first thing we need to do is just take a quick look at our testbed, if you've been following our HD 7970 series of content, though, you shouldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Once we've done that we'll move onto the performance of the setup and see how it compares to other HD 7970s we've looked at."
Enermax Fulmo GT Case
"This new chassis takes cues from other chassis we have seen already, but still has enough of its own accents to make this new chassis a case that will have no issue standing taller than most of its competition. The "big tower" as Enermax labels it, should really be called a huge tower chassis. In the design quest for this chassis, the main idea was to allow any motherboard up to and including HPTX, or the form factor made specifically for the SR-2 from EVGA, and with the SR-3 in the works, even if you missed out on the original, you now have a chassis worthy of housing its predecessor." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 11:08:03 PST (2 reads)
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XFX ProSeries 1250W Power Supply
"XFX is well known for their graphic cards but for quite some time they are also into the PSU market with two series called classic and Pro. Today we will test the flagship unit of the Pro series which with 1250W capacity will easily power even the most demanding systems."
Epic Gear Hybrid Pad Mouse Mat
"Epic Gear's mouse mat offering is the slimline Hybrid Pad. As the name suggests the mat uses a hybrid type surface coating. It comes in two sizes to fit both average and low sensitivity gamers. With a thickness of only 3 mm the mat is ideally suited for prolonged gaming sessions and can be transported with ease." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 10:59:56 PST (2 reads)
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NZXT Switch 810 Case
“At CES 2012, NZXT launched a new full tower case they've dubbed the Switch 810. NZXT is calling this a "hybrid" tower design, suitable for extreme air cooling or complex liquid cooling setups, and offering users a choice between maximum airflow or noise reduction. With up to ten 120/140mm fans, top 360/420mm and bottom 140/240mm radiator support, pivoting internal fan mounts and removable dust filters, NZXT is definitely taking the cooling aspect of this case seriously.”
2012 CES Cooler Master
“We visited with Cooler Master at the Bellagio after they hosted one heck of a party the night before. Cooler Master is celebrating their 20 year anniversary with a plethora of new products for 2012. The PR team first showed us their upcoming heatsink known as the TPC-812 which utilizes a new technology called Vertical Vapor Chamber. We were told that Cooler Master is one of only two companies in the world that are capable of producing this technology.” |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 10:51:49 PST (2 reads)
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Sennheiser PC 320 G4ME Headset
"Sennheiser are refreshing their gaming audio range with the release of the PC 320 G4ME headset. Aimed at those who have a limited budget it shares many of the same features as the higher specification models and today we find out if it makes a worthwhile purchase."
Enermax Briskie Keyboard & Mouse Combo
"One of the most recent additions to Enermax's peripherals range is the Briskie wireless keyboard and mouse bundle, a low cost product which is aimed at mainstream users." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 10:46:03 PST (2 reads)
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| Hardware Secrets Two For One |
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Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Case
"The Overseer RX-I is the latest full-tower case from Thermaltake. However, its physical dimensions are similar to mid-tower products from other manufacturers. Unfortunately, there is no official standard to categorize a case as full-tower or mid-tower. According to Thermaltake, they are saying this case is a full-tower model because it has four 5.25" bays, eight expansion slots, and supports E-ATX motherboards, even though the typical full-tower case looks bigger."
Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W PS
"The EarthWatts Platinum is the latest power supply series from Antec, and will be available in 450 W, 550 W, and 650 W versions, coming with the 80 Plus Platinum certification. This new series will reach the North American market next month; we were able to get a sample before its official release. Let's see if the 650 W model is a good option." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 10:40:01 PST (2 reads)
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Thermaltake Bigwater 760 Plus kit
"Congratulations, you have made it to the final year of this world, or as typical, normal people would call, 2012. Now, assuming you are not some death-craving Mayan preparing for the end of the world, here at APH Networks, we have a review for you on liquid cooling. To be more specific, the Thermaltake Bigwater 760 Plus CPU cooler. I always find it interesting how many people find liquid cooling something for hardcore enthusiasts. This isn't completely true. While back in the late 90's it would be a true statement, today, many high-end gaming rigs come with liquid cooling, and you can even buy chassis with built-in systems as well. Not to mention there are many products out there you can easily get your hands on to instantly put in liquid cooling. However, one of the major hurdles for consumers to adopt liquid cooling amass is the fear of leaks and other unknowns."
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
"A group of female friends are on vacation when they see a five story hotel with a sign that reads, "For Women Only". The bouncer explains to them how it works. "We have five floors. Go up floor by floor, and once you find the type of man you are looking for, you can stay there". On the first floor, the sign reads: "Short and plain". The friends laugh, and without hesitation, move on to the next floor. "Short and handsome". Still, this isn't good enough, so the friends continue on up. "Tall and plain". Again, they are still not impressed enough. On the fourth floor, the sign is perfect: "Tall and handsome". The women get all excited, and were about to go in when they realize there is still one floor left. Wondering what they are missing, they head on up to the fifth and final floor. There, they find the sign that reads: "There are no men here. This floor was built only to prove that there is no way to please a woman". While this joke may give out a few laughs for us guys, in many ways, it is quite true." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 10:34:03 PST (2 reads)
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Steelseries Diablo 3 Headset
"Steelseries is well known for its many gamer and enthusiastic products. Ranging from mouse mats to brand-related headsets and keyboards, Steelseries offers high-end products for anyone who is serious about their gaming peripheral performance. Recently Steelseries introduced another Blizzard Licensed product named the Diablo 3 Headset. In effect it’s the Siberia V2 Headset, but then much cooler! Let’s take a look, shall we?"
HIS 6670 1GB Video Card
"With the new line up of graphics cards coming from AMD and Nvidia, we can expect some nice price drops on the last generation as both firms and their partners attempt to clear old stock. This means it’s upgrade time whether you’re buying the latest cards or not, but not necessarily just for the high end. Today I’m checking out a card that’s much more at home in an HTPC or low end gaming rig. It’s a dual fan 6670 from HIS with 1GB of onboard memory." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 23, 2012 @ 10:27:09 PST (3 reads)
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| Legit Reviews Two For One |
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Bitfenix Raider Case
"The soft touch finish and the clean mesh panel that goes from the font over the top is very stylish while allowing for excellent thermals. The top mounted 200mm fan port is a unique option and the bottom 120mm optional fan intake is a great touch. This case allows the mounting of up to five fans, with two being 200mm or four fans with three being 200mm variety. Quiet airflow should not be a problem in this case. We loved the USB 3.0 / USB 2.0 cables from the top I/O ports, what a ingenious design..."
Xigmatek XAF Series Fan Round-Up
"Now, I will say that Xigmatek may do their own sound measurements, but I would be more inclined to trust what Hong Sheng gets and NZXT reports, as they use ISO standards for measuring sound pressure. Conditions which I try to replicate by making my isolation chamber as close to 10dB(A) as humanly possible. Which should give the most comparable results between what I measure and what OEMs provide in terms of sound pressure figures." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Sunday, January 22, 2012 @ 07:23:33 PST (4 reads)
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| Benchmark Reviews Two For One |
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SilverStone SST-PS07B mATX Case
"It's a fact that has proven itself over and again: technology shrinks. Even for performance oriented enthusiasts, it isn't always better to "go big or go home." In fact, the more technology shrinks, the more useful it becomes. Consider that the first commercially available computer's CPU and memory was 14' x 8' x 8' and weighed 29, 000 LBS (UNIVAC I)! Sixty years later and your smart phone occupies just 3/8" x 3" x 2" of space, weighs just over 4 ozs, and runs at 1500Mhz. Today, and in the spirit of shrinking technology, Benchmark Reviews investigates the SilverStone SST-PS07B mATX mini-tower computer case."
G.SKILL Ripjaws-Z 16GB DDR3-1600 Memory
"Although the company was established in 1989, G.SKILL is still not as familiar a name in the memory market as are Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston, and others. But in the past few years they've built their portfolio of memory (and memory is almost all they do) to encompass a broad selection of price/performance points ensuring that system builders and enthusiasts can find virtually anything they need. Today Benchmark Reviews tests G.SKILL's "mainstream" DDR3-1600 16GB quad-channel memory kit for Intel's X79 platform." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Friday, January 20, 2012 @ 17:02:25 PST (2 reads)
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ECS H67H2-M BE H67 Motherboard
"On the review bench today PCSTATS tests the ECS H67H2-M Black Edition microATX motherboard, built on the Intel H67 B3-stepping chipset and supporting socket LGA1155 Intel 2nd Generation Core i3/i5/i7 2xxx-series 32nm Sandy Bridge processors. The Intel H67 chipset makes it possible to output HD video content via HDMI or Display Port to a big screen HDTV, or hook up dual LCD displays over Analog VGA and DVI monitor connections."
Crash Recovery & TBSOD
""A typical Windows BSOD message is divided into four parts, and actually does display some helpful clues as to what caused its appearance. Reading a BSOD is not an everyday task, but if we take a moment to dissect it, you'll see it can help us to resolve the conflict which is stopping Windows from operating correctly." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Friday, January 20, 2012 @ 16:56:35 PST (3 reads)
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| Pure Overclock Two For One |
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MSI X79A-GD65 (8D) Motherboard
“We have been fast and furious bringing you a slew of reviews for the new LGA2011 X79 chipset motherboards and they have all had some interesting individual offerings, whether hardware-oriented or with vastly different auto overclocking abilities. We are hoping you still have an appetite for more information, because we're looking at the MSI X79A-GD65 8D, which is the latest in a busy marketplace that we're examining, and we think it has some serious promise.”
AMD A8-3870K CPU
“We have our hands on AMD’s improved A-Series APU named the A8-3870K, which comes with an improved on-die GPU and an unlocked multiplier that should overclock even better. Hopefully these improvements will provide improved performance for the enthusiast looking to save some money.” |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Friday, January 20, 2012 @ 16:51:12 PST (2 reads)
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Evercool HPL-815 Low Profile CPU Cooler
"Today we are going to look at a CPU cooler from Evercool, their latest low profile solution, the HPL-815. The HPL-815 should fit well in the HTPC market. The fan used on this cooler is a mere 15mm thick and spins between 1,000 and 4,000 RPM. When spinning at 2,200 RPM it is rated at less than 20 dBA which should be ideal for a low noise media center build."
Corsair Vengeance K90 Keyboard
"We recently looked at some headsets from Corsair’s new Vengeance gaming peripheral range which impressed us … thanks to their solid build quality and excellent in game performance. So we were looking forward to test other products from their gaming peripheral range. Today we are going to look at the Corsair Vengeance K90 MMO Gaming keyboard which boasts a very impressive specification to rival the best keyboards out there on the market." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Thursday, January 19, 2012 @ 18:35:06 PST (3 reads)
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| Think Computers Two For One |
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NZXT Switch 810 Case
"As we said in our NZXT CES 2012 coverage we were shown a brand new case that NZXT was about to launch. This case is one of the most impressive cases I’ve seen from NZXT and one of the most impressive cases that I saw at CES this year. The case launches today worldwide and you can pick it up for $169.99! Some of the features include hybrid fins on the top of the case that can be opened and closed, support for 280mm radiators and up to 10 fans, 2 removable hard drive cages for up to 7 hard drives, 9 expansion slots, USB 3.0 and much more. Read on to check out our video overview of this amazing case!"
CES 2012 Mad Catz
"Mad Catz has made gaming accessories for years. Although recently, MadCatz has seriously committed to expanding their product line. With the Street Fighter X Tekken VS Arcade Stick, Xbox 360 Primer Headset, Cyborg F.R.E.Q. Headset, and the MLG Pro Gaming Circuit controller. But Mad Catz’s new products aren’t clones of what’s already available, each product offers something new. For instance, the Street Fighter X Tekken VS Arcade Stick is the exact dimensions of the Japanese arcade counterpart with better build quality, the Xbox 360 Primer Headset is officially licensed and runs at 5.8GHz, Cyborg F.R.E.Q. has a detachable mic and a swappable USB or 3.5mm adapter, so it is usable on any device." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Thursday, January 19, 2012 @ 18:30:57 PST (3 reads)
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Thermaltake Frio Advanced CPU Cooler
"Featuring very good performance levels thanks to its dual 130mm PWM fans, universal CPU compatibility and a smaller size than other similar performance units the latest Frio Advanced CPU Cooler by Thermaltake has but a single drawback, quite high noise levels especially at load."
Tt eSports Theron Mouse
"Largely thanks to its brand new design which gives it amazing grip and also because of its excellent accuracy, lightning fast speed and large number of features the THERON Gaming Mouse by TteSports is without doubt amongst the 5 best all-around units i have used to date." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Thursday, January 19, 2012 @ 18:25:34 PST (3 reads)
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| Curt Schilling Founds Game Studio |
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“I was kind of an oddball at the time, and I was around and on some teams that it probably wasn’t the cool thing to have a computer. But obviously it became much more popular to the point where my last couple of years, I had two traveling console set-ups where we had a flat screen, an Xbox and a PlayStation and they would get out and get put up on the airplanes when we were flying around.” So as his Major League playing days were winding down and he was eyeing what to do after his last pitch, gaming seemed a natural fit for a new career. Schilling is now the chairman and founder of 38 Studios, a video game company that is getting set to release its first title, “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning,” on February 7." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Thursday, January 19, 2012 @ 18:03:52 PST (4 reads)
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AMD Radeon HD 7970 3GB
"Announced on the 22nd of December, the Radeon HD 7970 went on sale on the 9th of January only. And it is yet rather hard to find in shops. There are can be numerous reasons for that, from imperfections in the new 28nm tech process to transportation problems due to natural disasters. So we’ll put the availability issue aside for now, but will instead focus on the new Tahiti architecture and the first graphics card based on it."
550-850W Power Supply Roundup
"Power supply units with wattage ratings of 600 to 800 watts enjoy high demand nowadays. Even though the majority of home computers do not actually need that much power, no one is going to refuse to have a reserve of wattage, especially if you don’t have to pay much for it. So what can we expect from PSUs which offer that much wattage at a more or less affordable price? To answer this question we’ve taken half a dozen products, both new and not very new. All of them have one thing in common. Their price is more affordable compared to most other same-class PSUs." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Thursday, January 19, 2012 @ 05:37:08 PST (5 reads)
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Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB CrossFire
"After that we moved onto the HIS HD 7970 3GB and took the time to overclock it to see just what kind of potential was on offer from the brand new model. Today the Sapphire HD 7970 3GB showed up and it was time to see what happens when we finally put together a pair of these new cards and see what kind of performance we're able to get out of the new models when in CrossFire. As always, before we get into the performance side of things, we've got to take a closer look at the box and the package before we take a closer look at the card itself. Once we've done that we'll quickly cover the specifications and make sure CrossFire is working before we get into the testbed side of things and of course check out the performance."
Patriot Pyro SE 240GB SSD
"Looking out on the horizon we don't see SandForce trying to leap frog themselves early this year and we don't see why they would need to. Last month we looked at the latest from Indilinx (OCZ Octane) and Marvell (Corsair Performance Pro) and neither controller managed to muster the performance of the SF-2281. Sometime in the middle of 2012 we'll see Team SandForce manufactures move to 24nm Toggle Mode and maybe even 20nm IMFT flash, but neither of these technologies will bring a great deal to the table over the tried and true SF-2281 / synchronous flash combination we have today. The Patriot Pyro SE uses this magical combination to deliver amazing performance for general computing tasks and at an equally amazing price point." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 @ 16:11:49 PST (5 reads)
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| Hardware Secrets Two For One |
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NZXT Switch 810 Case
"The new Switch 810 is a huge full-tower case, supporting big motherboards (E-ATX, XL-ATX, SSI CEB, and SSI EEB), a big radiator for liquid cooling solutions, and nine expansion slots. Let's explore this new release."
Electric Delorean
"After going to the CES for so many years, it is hard to find something that really catches our attention to the point where we have to stop and say, "Wow!" This year, our "wow" moment happened the minute we saw an electric Delorean." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 @ 16:06:59 PST (4 reads)
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G.Skill Ripjaws Z 2133 MHz DDR3 CL9 16 GB
"G.Skill sent us their Ripjaws Z F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH kit, now that Intel's latest platform has been launched, and new memory kits are needed, due to the new quad-channel configuration that the Intel X79 Express platforms offers. We put the 16 GB G.Skill 2133 MHz kit through the paces, and push it to the max."
Corsair Performance Pro 256 GB SSD
"Corsair's Performance Pro 256 GB SSD is based on Marvell's 88SS9174 controller which promises great performance at affordable price levels. In our testing we see the drive claim a leading performance spot thanks to some clever firmware tuning by Corsair." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 @ 15:59:47 PST (4 reads)
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Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Hybrid HD
"Just over a year ago Seagate introduced their 1st Generation Momentus XT 500GB SATA II hybrid drive which was basically the marriage of a 7200RPM 500GB HDD with 4GB of SLC NAND Flash. So exactly like other hybrid solutions the most frequent used data were moved to the 4GB NAND Flash part of the drive while the least used data remained on the normal HDD. Fast forward a year later and Seagate just released the 2nd Generation of the Momentus XT drive, this time however the drive supports the SATA III protocol, the main HDD comes with 750GB of space and the SLC NAND Flash part has been doubled to a total of 8GB compared to the 4GB of the previous generation."
Enermax Aurora Lite Wireless Keyboard
"With the lack of rechargeable batteries as its only real drawback the latest Aurora Lite Wireless Keyboard by Enermax is not only one of the most elegant and high quality keyboards we've ever seen, largely thanks to its brushed aluminum body and scissor keys but it also features a very good wireless range which makes it ideal for people who don’t really like having many cables around." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 @ 14:59:50 PST (4 reads)
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