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| Think Computers Two For One |
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Gigabyte Z68XP-UD4 Intel Z68 Motherboard
"Intel’s Z68 chipset has been out for sometime now and it brings together some of the best features of Intel’s P67 and H67 chipsets. Today we are taking a look at another Intel Z68 motherboard, this time it is the Z68XP-UD4 from Gigabyte. Gigabyte has loaded with motherboard with features like a 16 phase power design, Intel Quick Sync video, switchable graphics with LucidLogix Virtu GPU virtualization, and Gigabyte’s new touch BIOS."
Thermaltake Overseer RX-I Case
"If there is one thing many people know Thermaltake for it is their cases, especially the ones that have that futuristic look to them. Today we will be checking out a case that has this look, the Overseer RX-I. This style appeals to many people, especially gamers. Thermaltake even calls this design an “E-sports gaming style front bezel.” Besides the cool looks this case features a top-mounted hard drive dock, USB 3.0 and eSATA connectivity, support for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch hard drives, 3 included fans and since it is a full tower case you can fit motherboards inside up to E-ATX!" |
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Posted by jimadkins on Saturday, February 04, 2012 @ 00:35:18 PST (2 reads)
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| Micron CEO Dies In Plane Crash |
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"Micron CEO and chairman Steve Appleton died Friday morning in a small-plane crash in Boise. Micron, a maker of semiconductors and flash memory, confirmed Appleton's death at age 51 in a press release that praised his "passion and energy." Appleton was flying a Lancair fixed-wing single-engine plane that crashed at 8:58 a.m. local time at Boise Airport, a spokeswoman for the airport told CNN's John Fricke. She could not confirm whether the accident took place at takeoff, landing or during flight." |
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Posted by jimadkins on Saturday, February 04, 2012 @ 00:19:44 PST (3 reads)
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Intel Core i7-3820 vs. Core i7-2700K & Core i7-3930K
"However, LGA 2011 solutions have several indisputable advantages that may make them increasingly popular in the enthusiast community. First, this platform supports PCI Express 3.0 bus today already, which may be very handy for the new AMD Radeon HD 7970 graphics cards. Second, it supports much more PCI Express lanes than LGA 1155, which allows building uncompromising high-speed multi-GPU systems. However, the problem is that these advantages will make most sense in the gaming systems, where six-core processors are usually not recommended because in most cases they will have lower frequency than the quad-core CPUs, and therefore will demonstrate lower performance in gaming applications."
Gold & Bronze NZXT Power Supply Roundup
"The PSU market is extremely competitive, yet new players are often to be seen there. Some of them, like Corsair, have already earned a good reputation although do not actually develop and manufacture PSUs they market under their brands. Today we want to introduce to you another new name. It is NZXT, a company known for its various computer accessories and, recently, CPU coolers and system cases. Now they want to make a try on a completely new field. We will discuss five products from both PSU series offered by NZXT. To be exact, we’ve got the complete HALE82 series with its three models of 650, 750 and 850 watts. The HALE90 series is comprised of more products, but we’ve got only two: the flagship 1-kilowatt model and a midrange 750-watt one." |
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Posted by jimadkins on Saturday, February 04, 2012 @ 00:14:53 PST (2 reads)
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XFX Radeon HD 7950 Black Edition
"With AMD releasing the Radeon HD 7950 today, we all knew that things would go a bit differently from when the 7970 launched back in December. The 7970 saw a reference launch with partners bringing out refreshed cards later down the line. The 7950 however was destined to see specialist models being released at launch including custom coolers and overclocked editions. Today we take a look at the XFX Radeon HD 7950 Black Edition Overclocked 3GB graphics card which offers up a double dissipation cooler which XFX are famous for, as well as being overclocked past its stock speeds and being included in the Black Edition range of products."
QPad MK-80 Mechanical Keyboard
"What we have in for review today is the QPad MK-80 Mechanical Keyboard. The difference between a ‘normal’ keyboard and a mechanical one, is the type of switch that the keyboard uses for the keys. The different types of switches include membrane switches – the most popular type found in most keyboards, Scissor switches – found in laptops and then mechanical switches, which are the switch type we are looking at today. The MK-80 retail version has MX Cherry Blue switches, but QPad do also give you the option of, red, brown or. black (The MK-85 has Cherry Red switches)." |
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Posted by jimadkins on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 @ 11:43:01 PST (4 reads)
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| Pure Overclock Two For One |
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Gigabyte X79-UD5 Motherboard
“We've seen Gigabyte make great strides in their latest X79 lineup, including the new BIOS and auto features designed with the enthusiast in mind. So let's take a closer look to see if the X79-UD5 board can continue that successful trend.”
Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 OC
“The Sapphire HD 7950 OC is the overclocked version of the AMD design, and also comes with a customized air cooler. Is it strong enough to fend off the GTX 580? Framerates tell some of the story, but what about temperatures? Power consumption? Gaming value? Let's take a closer look at the Sapphire HD 7950 OC and answer those questions for you.” |
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Posted by jimadkins on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 @ 11:06:40 PST (3 reads)
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| Hardware Secrets Two For One |
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Thermaltake Smart 630W Power Supply
"The Smart Series is a new entry-level power supply series from Thermaltake, with the standard 80 Plus certification. Coming to replace the old Purepower and TR2 "standard" series, this new series features 430 W, 530 W, 630 W, and 730 W models, all with the standard 80 Plus certification."
AMD Radeon HD 7950 Video Card
"The new Radeon HD 7950, which is being released today, is a more affordable version of the Radeon HD 7970. Let's check its performance and see if it is a good choice for users looking for a high-end video card." |
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Posted by jimadkins on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 @ 10:55:34 PST (4 reads)
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Thermaltake Smart Series 730W Power Supply
"Thermaltake is claiming that the new Smart series power supply is just that. The Smart series is only offered in a non-modular version for now. But the power range within the spectrum of anybody building a system from basic web browsing to gaming that reason is 430 to 730 watts."
Thermaltake Commander MS-I Case
"The new Commander MS-I is a new case aimed at the budget-minded DIYer. The case is priced at the lower price spectrum, retailing for about $40-$60. The pricing depends on where it is purchased from as well as if it comes with fans or out. But what do you get for this incredible low price?" |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 @ 06:32:23 PST (3 reads)
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Corsair Carbide 500R Arctic White Case
"A while back we reviewed the Corsair 400R Carbide series case. The Carbide series being Corsairs entry level case lineup, is not the cheapest, yet still remaining affordable cases. However no cut backs on build quality, design and features are made. The 400R was a pretty solid case, but there's another, more advanced version in the Carbide series. The 500R is the bigger brother of the previously tested 400R. Sporting a beefy 200mm sidefan, 3 step fan controller, removable HDD bays and some little extra refinements on the case design. Retailing at about 20 euros more than the 400R, we try to figure out if the 500R is worth it's money."
Geil Enhance Corsa PC3-12800 1600MHz
"Not your average standard DDR3 memory. The Enhance CORSA Series, tested at much higher standards of 1500MHz CL9 and 1700MHz CL9 instead of the labeled 1333MHz CL9 and 1600MHz CL9. The extra guard-bands of an impressive 10% are to provide enhanced performance and more importantly, enhanced reliablity that defines the spirit of “GeIL Standard”. The Enhance CORSA Series are compatible with all of the latest platforms with the labeled speeds under standard settings, while the enhanced speeds are embedded in Intel XMP profiles. The Enhance CORSA Series provide users with performance, quality and compatiblity exceeding expectations." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 @ 06:16:06 PST (3 reads)
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Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler
"To sum it all up, Cooler Master's new Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler has great performance, yet leaves a relatively small acoustic footprint. The included mounting solution is very robust, if a bit fussy to install, and Cooler Master includes an extra pair of fan clips should the user wish to add another fan."
Thermaltake Dr. Power II ATX PS Tester
"Thermaltake's Dr. Power II works as advertised, is relatively accurate and has an easily used and intuitive interface. Two testing modes allow the user to make a quick pass or zero in on a suspect connector or rail. It's compact, lightweight and the large LCD screen is easy to read." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 @ 10:08:25 PST (5 reads)
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AMD Radeon HD 7950 3 GB
"Today AMD released their new Radeon HD 7950, the second card to be based on AMD's GCN shader architecture. Compared to its bigger brother, the HD 7970, the card comes with less shaders and reduced clock speeds. Other features have remained the same, like 3 GB memory, improved power consumption and support for EyeFinity."
AMD Radeon HD 7950 CrossFire
"In this review we put two Radeon HD 7950 graphics cards in a dual-GPU CrossFire configuration and test whether this $900 setup is worth its money and how it fares against other alternatives." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 @ 09:41:40 PST (5 reads)
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NZXT Phantom 410 Case
"Let's be real honest here. In the realm in which I live, as a reviewer, there is a level of trust that develops as you work with companies over the years. As a guy that is in the position to recommend things to others, I take that aspect seriously. When I put my "seal of approval" on it, I mean it! I don't see any reason to waver in how to explain it, or any issues bringing failures to the forefront when said failures do pass through my hands, just ask Gelid why I haven't heard from them since I failed their GPU cooler. That is an extreme example of my approach with companies and their products. Getting back to my original point, when dealing with various manufactures, a report and a trust is built as you see they are making great strides to improve things, or on the flip side, those that don't show any initiative, I'd rather not bring that material to your attention."
Star Wars The Old Republic
"Also to assist with soloing content, you gain companions very early in the game. These companions are NPC characters that basically you can control with a hot bar. In general they just beat on an enemy (DPS), take damage and maintain the enemy attention (tank) or just heal you (healer) as the fights go on. This in many ways introduces people new to the genre some of the now very established mechanics. Instead of learning what tank, dps and healers do in guilds or human groups that could lead to frustration, you have an NPC character to help you out. At the lower levels you can even solo some of the group content with them." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 @ 05:51:47 PST (5 reads)
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MSI Raptor Black Case
"When looking at cases for your next build, there are several ways that you can go. On the high end, you have a plethora of options and can spend hundreds of dollars on one. Then, there is the middle-of-the-road good quality case. For a budget build, there are is also a litany of options. When looking at a budget case there are some sacrifices that you make for the sake of price. Today we are looking at the MSI Raptor case, a budget case with some interesting options. Does this case’s unique options make up for the shortcomings of being a budget case, or is this another case you should skip even on a budget build?"
Thermaltake Meka G Unit KB
"With the release of the Meka G Unit, the keyboard category has the most players in Thermaltake's eSports line. The G Unit itself is the third reincarnation of the Meka family, featuring mechanical switches among other gaming enthusiast features. The professional gaming market has never been hotter, nor more demanding. Let's see how Thermaltake handles the heat." |
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Posted by JimAdkins on Monday, January 30, 2012 @ 06:47:38 PST (6 reads)
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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 (14 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 (13 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 (11 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 (11 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 (10 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 (10 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 (10 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 (10 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 (10 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 (9 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 (8 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 (10 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 (13 reads)
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