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How about a little SSD envy Thu, Nov 19, 2009 - 01:47 PM
Skip the Intel X-25 Extreme, those in need of pure storage satisfaction should talk to ViON who have produced a 100TB DRAM SSD.  Think 100TB of storage that provides five million IOPS and speeds along with 60GB/sec of bandwidth.  Not impressed yet?  It uses ECC DRAM, so no bits will be flipping on you and it is set up as a RAID so your data redunadncy is covered.  How much would that run you to pick up is a bit of a mystery as no price tag was included, but as The Register puts it "six figures of IOPS capability often involves six figures of cash".  Save up those pennies!

"ViON have produced a 100TB DRAM solid state drive, which they claim to be the largest flash memory-based storage box in the world.

The HyperStor-6200 uses both Hitachi Data Systems and Texas Memory Systems technology - think RamSan 6200 - and provides five million I/Os per second (IOPS) with 60GB/sec bandwidth. It is a monster of an SSD."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Storage  Storage


We're going to need a new benchmark Wed, Nov 18, 2009 - 02:31 PM
When a single graphics card beats 10,000 points on the Extreme 3DMark Vantage and refuses to dip below 100fps on every game Ryan tested, even at 2650 x 1600 with every single feature turned up to 11, you know you have unprecedented performance.  Even a triple SLI rig would have trouble keeping up, and if it did then there is no reason you can't toss a second HD5970 into your system, apart from the $599 entrance fee.  Join Ryan as he shatters benchmarks and sees games in a way never seen before.

"The new AMD Radeon HD 5970 graphics card takes PC gaming performance to a completely new level by combining a pair of Evergreen-based GPUs on a single PCB, 2GB of GDDR5 memory and plenty of headroom for overclocking. For a single card system, the performance that the HD 5970 provides is simply unmatched but that does not mean the card is without its slight misgivings."

Here are some more Graphics Card articles from around the web:

Click Here to go to Video Cards  Graphics Cards


GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 featuring 333 Onboard Acceleration, 3-Way SLI and CrossFireX Wed, Nov 18, 2009 - 01:49 PM

City of Industry, CA, November 18, 2009 – GIGABYTE Technology CO., LTD., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is pleased to launch their latest flagship motherboard, the GA-X58A-UD7. Based on the Intel X58 chipset, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 delivers all the killer next generation features that gaming enthusiasts and power users have been waiting for including GIGABYTE’s 333 Onboard Acceleration features with support for USB 3.0, Serial-ATA Revision 3.0 (6Gbps) and a 3x USB Power Boost, as well as multi-GPU support for NVIDIA 3-Way SLI and ATI CrossFireX and support for Intel’s upcoming 32nm high performance processors.

“GIGABYTE is once again raising the standard by which all other motherboards are judged with our latest flagship GA-X58A-UD7,” commented Henry Kao, Vice President GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. “Featuring next generation storage capabilities including USB 3.0 and SATA 3, as well as GIGABYTE’s own unique 3x USB Power Boost, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 truly epitomizes everything that a highest performance, highest feature set motherboard is all about.”

Continuing GIGABYTE’s technology leadership, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 features the revolutionary GIGABYTE Ultra Durable 3 design, with 2 ounces of copper for both the Power and Ground layers to enable dramatically lower system temperature, improved energy efficiency and enhanced stability for overclocking. The GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 also features the GIGABYTE Smart 6 technology, offering a combination of 6 innovative software utilities that provides an easier and smarter way for managing your system, including improved system performance, faster boot-up time, secure platform management as well as easy to enable system recovery with a click of mouse button.

The GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 supports the latest Intel Core i7 processors for the LGA 1366 socket as well as Intel’s next generation 32nm processors, offering a high level of future CPU headroom for users wanting to maintain cutting-edge levels of performance. With the memory controller integrated directly into the processor die, the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 also supports triple channel DDR3 memory for blazing fast memory performance.

USB 3.0 Support
The GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard supports the latest generation SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology made possible through an onboard NEC uPD720200 host controller. With superfast transfer rates of up to 5 Gbps, users are able to experience an almost a 10x improvement over USB 2.0. Additionally, backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 assures users of long term use of their legacy USB 2.0 devices. The onboard NEC SuperSpeed USB 3.0 technology also provides new power management features that include increased maximum bus power and device current draw to better accommodate power-hungry devices.

SATA 6 Gbps Support
Yet another onboard feature of the GIGABYTE X58A-UD7 is Marvell’s new SE9128 chips for high-speed SATA Revision 3.0 compatibility, delivering superfast 6Gbps link speeds for twice the data transfer rates of SATA Revision 2.0 (3 Gbps). When used in RAID 0 (Stripe) mode, the GIGABYTE X58A-UD7 offers even faster data transfer rates of up to 4x the speed of current SATA interfaces. Another advantage of the Marvell SE9128 is its onboard RAID processor, which enables hardware based data balancing for ultra low CPU utilization, providing a much more powerful RAID solution compared to traditional software based RAID.

3x USB Power Boost
The GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard features a 3x USB power boost, delivering greater compatibility and extra power for USB devices. GIGABYTE’s unique USB power design is also able to efficiently regulate output over the full voltage range, which greatly enhances USB device compatibility. In addition, dedicated lower resistance fuses ensure lower voltage drops, and provide a more stable and plentiful power delivery.

For additional information about the GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD7 motherboard, please visit the GIGABYTE website at: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_OverView.aspx?ProductID=3251


Will the gaming studios never learn Wed, Nov 18, 2009 - 01:06 PM
There are many rules to Star Trek, such as only watch the even numbered movies or you cannot make a good Star Trek game, unless you were very very lucky and worked on the 1992 Star Trek: 25th Anniversary game.  For the most part they ranged from the electronic equivalent of a root canal to slightly better than just quietly watching a turned off monitor.  Now thanks to Cryptic Studios, we will soon have a Star Trek MMORPG set in the J.J. Abrams version of the Trek universe.  Ship combat is the major focus but there will be hand to hand included as well.  It is hard to say which end of the spectrum this game will fall on, but the brave can get a preview at Gaming Heaven.
Enermax goes green, but keeps their colourful cables Tue, Nov 17, 2009 - 04:53 PM
The Enermax ECO80+ 620W PSU can be yours for about $100 and with its 80+ rating it does indeed deserve to have ECO as part of its name.  [H]ard|OCP has become quite familiar with Enermax PSUs in this power range and compared it to a few of those previous models as well as testing it on its own.  The standard load testing results beat Liberty Eco 620W but on the Transient Load Testing it fared worse, DC Output Quality was the same.  You have a number of choices in the 600-700W segment, make sure you are fully informed before you go and pick one up.

"Enermax produces some of the best computer power supplies in the world and has a great reputation for doing just that. We take a look at what Enermax does when it gets green and drops the price point for those of us on an enthusiast system building budget with the ECO80+ at 620 watts."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Lets submerge a fan controller Mon, Nov 16, 2009 - 03:03 PM

Thanks in part to self contained watercooling products like the Corsair H5O, watercooled PCs are becoming much more common.  While the all in one solutions are easy to use, they lack the customization possibilities of self built cooling loops and the choice of pumps and radiators available to those willing to make the leap.  The major problem with trying to utilize a self built watercooling system is the possibility of leaks; a problem which is often dealt with by picking up a non-conductive liquid to fill the system with.  Most reviews of non-conductive liquid involve measuring resistance with a multimeter but Bjorn3D felt that doing so was too wimpy for them.  Read on to see an active fan controller powering fans get dunked.


"For this review, we are going to pay attention to the fluid portion of a water cooling setup. Today we have Feser One's Non Conductive fluid to look at. Feser also has 10 different colors of fluid for users to really customize the look of their water cooling setups even more. We are going to do a comparison to our ever faithful winterized washer fluid, and compare the Feser One fluid to distilled water. Finally, the mad scientist in me will push things to the absolute limit. We are going to verify if the Feser One fluid is actually non-conductive."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Thermaltake seems to be falling behind Wed, Nov 11, 2009 - 05:31 PM
FrostyTech has just finished updating their Top 5 charts for heatsinks,  the top performers as well as the quietest, split into AMD and Intel.  Many new names appear like Prolimatech and 3Rsystem at the very top of the charts and some familiar names failed to make it on at all.  If you are looking for the short list of heatsinks to choose from for your next build, all you have to do is click.
Banning backlight Tue, Nov 10, 2009 - 03:36 PM
The backlight on an LED based display can be rather annoying, with light bleeding in at the edge of the screen and dark areas looking more grey thanks to light bleeding through.  In gaming it is less bothersome than when watching a horror movie but it is still there.  InsideHW has found the LG W2486L, which is the first display they've come across that has no backlight bleeding through to dark areas at all.  There are also other things to like about this monitor, so take a look at their full review.

“For an average user, question of monitor backlight is, in most cases, a trivial one. Most users simply don’t like to see too much backlight breach along edges along with bright or smudgy black areas. And that’s it, for an average user. In case you do need good display, and do pay attention to small details, you expect much more from your monitor’s backlight. LED (Light Emitting Diode) backlight is often mentioned as better and more energy efficient solution, but only in case RGB LED technology is correctly implemented. Changing neon backlight for an LED does sound like a simple task in theory, but this can also present some new problems. Since LG W2486L does have LED backlight, and we will check out how LG did its homework…”

Here are some more Display articles from around the web:

Click Here to go to Displays  Displays


Marvin would be proud of Kingwin's new 1000W PSU Mon, Nov 09, 2009 - 03:30 PM

Just a bit under $200, the Kingwin LAZER 1000W doesn't come with an Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator, instead it sports a Universal Power Modulator.  Its modular cabling all bears the same mini-fit JR style connector and the PSU decides what to provide based on which cable is plugged in.  Unfortunately they chose a very odd implementation of their 12V rail, which [H]ard|OCP felt could be improved.  Even with that fault, the PSU performed very well in their testing and managed to do it relatively quietly.

"No matter how you look at it, 1 kilowatt, or 1000 watts, it is a lot of power that most computer enthusiasts will never need. Rest assured though, some of us do need all that power and we are generally very picky about that much power gets delivered to our enthusiast computer builds. Kingwin's LZ-1000 is up to that job?"

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & 

Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Crack open a heat pipe Mon, Nov 09, 2009 - 02:24 PM
FrostyTech apparently requests the sacrifice of the occasional heat pipe based CPU cooler in the interests of curiosity, a benefit of which is that they have shared what they have learned.  It turns out there are a variety of wicks to be found inside; Metal Sintered Powder, Grooved and Metal Mesh (felt) with each wick type having its own benefits and drawbacks.  Some are cheaper to produce and work better in certain orientations, others are a little less discerning but cost more.  Check out the dissection by following the link.
RAID on the move Thu, Nov 05, 2009 - 05:21 PM
The AXUS FiT 500 RAID box can hold up to 5 drives and allow you to set up a variety of different RAID configurations depending on your needs.  It can be attached via either USB 2.0 or eSATA, choosing eSATA will help your transfer rates significantly, to the point where it almost equals an internal connection.  Whether you are considering an external RAID because of space concerns in your system or like the extra portability that the box offers, either way you should be quite happy with AXUS' RAID box.  You can see how it behaves in Techware Labs review.

"RAID is a very useful and inexpensive way to increase performance on your machine. RAID is also a very useful and inexpensive way to increase performance with your external data. The AXUS FiT 500 is a great product to do just that with easy RAID management and configuration, and using eSATA it's almost just as fast as an internal RAID. Check out the AXUS FiT 500, you wont regret it."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Storage  Storage


A tiny Titan Tue, Nov 03, 2009 - 05:35 PM
The Titan Skalli is a little smaller than your average third party cooler; taking advantage of the lower heat generated by LGA1156 CPUs.   A fairly quiet 100mm fan cools a 5" x 3.7" X 5.8" heatsink whose heatpipes touch the CPU directly.   Even so, this cooler will never become beloved by the overclocking community as it lacks the power required for a good overclock.  PureOverclock is convinced it will find its niche with the users who want a small case and low noise without sacrificing too much in the way of temperatures.

"Today we're testing the Titan Skalli CPU cooler that offers Heatpipe Direct Touch (HDT) technology in a smallform 100mm fan setup. We've seen the big boy Titan Fenrir cooler perform very well in our extensive LGA1366 air cooler testing, so it will be interesting to see if they can continue the winning streak with a decidedly smaller product for the LGA1156 socket."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


An unexpected power supply Tue, Nov 03, 2009 - 02:29 PM
The fact that ASUS makes motherboards, along with rebranded graphics cards, audio card and some other hardware is well known; the fact that they also make power supplies is not as well known.  Hardware Secrets got a hold of a ASUS U-75HA 750W PSU, a fairly simple PSU with sleeved non-modular cabling but with enough connectors to power a system with a multiple GPUs.  The voltage it provided was rock solid; even if it does lack in features it is a quality choice for a budget build.

"ASUS is the number on motherboard manufacturer in the world and they've been expanding to other business for several years, recently reaching the power supply market. Though ASUS power supplies are not sold in the US, this didn't prevent us from getting our hands on their 750 W product, which is sold throughout the world. Like the 500 W (P-50GA) and 650 W (U-65GA), models that we've already reviewed, this unit is manufactured by Delta Electronics. Does this power supply carry ASUS high-quality standards? Let's see."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Corsair goes the extra mile with their new PSU Thu, Oct 29, 2009 - 04:37 PM
Corsair's HX750W Professional PSU comes with a rather nice nylon bag.  It holds the large array of modular cabling, cable ties, screws and even a badge.  That's not all, it is an 80+ Gold rated PSU and delivers serious amperage on the 12V line to keep your GPUs happy and well fed.  Tweaknews handed it a Top Rank Award and you will see why it deserves such an accolade if you read the full review.

"Corsair's new HX750W ATX modular power supply certainly doesn't disappoint. With excellent performance, quiet operation, and a very innovative feature set, this PSU could easily find a home in the most demanding systems."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


ASUS and SATA 6G; a swing and a miss Thu, Oct 29, 2009 - 01:17 PM

On paper the PEX PLX8613 PCIe bridge chip, which allows the Marvell 9123 SATA controller to use a single PCIe 2.0 x1 lane  to connect to a SATA 6G drive for a maximum bandwidth of 500 MB/s, looks like a great idea.  It doesn't allow for the full 600MB/s that the SATA 6G specs allow for but certainly sounds faster than the previous 300GB/s maximum.  As listeners of the live Podcast last night heard, the reality is not as nice.  Using system RAM as a cache, along with no actual indications of increased transfer rates has disappointed Ryan sorely.  See the full details in his preview.
Dimples on your heatsink will make you smile Thu, Oct 29, 2009 - 12:39 PM
3Rsystem's Iceage 120 Boss II Dimpled-Fin heatsink takes advantage of several unique features to put it at the top of the Top 5 list of recommended coolers from FrostyTech.  The first is the crossing heatpipes, they do not travel along the edges but instead cross in the middle of the cooler as well as the middle of the airflow thus enhancing its ability to dump heat.  The second is that the fins of the heatsink are not smooth, instead they are dimpled to increase air turbulence within the heatsink.  Altogether it is the best cooler that FrostyTech has seen for both AMD and Intel.  The bad news is that it is very rare outside of EMEA.

"Let's get right to the point, 3Rsystem's Iceage 120 Boss II heatsink is currently one of the Top 5 heatsinks tested on Frostytech. Key to the success of this Korean-made heatsink on both AMD and Intel synthetic test platforms are five 8mm diameter exposed base heatpipes and a unique "X" pattern that places the heatpipes in the path of high velocity air from the coolers' 120mm fan. On top of that, the Iceage 120 Boss II heatsink utilizes dimpled surface fins which are intended to disrupt boundary layer laminar airflow."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


2.5" drives in a full sized case Mon, Oct 26, 2009 - 02:00 PM
If you pick up the NZXT M59 case, you won't need to pick up any extra adapters for SSDs, there is a cage designed to hold a pair of 2.5" drives.  That won't impact your total storage capacity to badly as there are 5 more 3.5" internal bays and even 4 external ones.  Your cooling can come from water thanks to its built in holes, or from air as the case can manage up to five 120mm fans.  All that can be yours for $60; if you aren't already convinced then the full review at Think Computers probably will.

"NZXT has added another case to their Classic Series of cases, it's called the M59 and it is quite inexpensive at under $60. You would think a case with that price tag would be really cheap, but the M59 has features like 2 included fans, 2.5-inch SSD bays, a side panel window, all black interior, a wire management system, and an eSATA port. A lot of these features cannot even be found on more expensive cases. Let's see if NZXT has a winner in the M59."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Too fast for garbage collection? Fri, Oct 23, 2009 - 01:14 PM
When you are dealing with SSDs, size matters in two very important ways.  It has an effect on performance and it has an impact on the price.  In this review, the drive in question is the Kingston 256GB SSDNow V+ a rather large size for an SSD and a rather large price. 16 Samsung MLC flash chips provide its storage space and the Samsung S3C29RBB01-YK40 controller handles the speed with the help of 128MB of DDR memory.  The Samsung controller does not handle Windows 7's TRIM function; on the other hand it is twice as fast as Samsung's previous SSD, as you can see at Legit Reviews.

"The Kingston SSDNow V+ Series of SSDs performed nearly twice as fast as the original Kingston SSDNow V series and also happens to be available in larger capacities, which is key for the advancement of SSDs in the market. The Kingston SSDNow V+ was said to have sequential read speeds of up to 220MB/sec. and write speeds of up to 180MB/sec. We were able to come very close to those read speeds and were actually able to get slightly faster write speeds in some of the benchmarks. This is clearly a quick drive and performed on par with the Corsair P256 and OCZ Summit 120GB as both of those competitors' drives feature the same internal components..."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go to Storage  Storage


Looks matter not to those powerful enough Thu, Oct 22, 2009 - 02:15 PM
The Seasonic S12D 850W Power Supply isn't much to look at, a basic black box with a lot of permanent cabling dome out of one end.  Looks are not how this PSU received such a high score from Think Computers, that came from the stability of the power provided.  There is a fair amount, 70A on the 12V line in fact, and it will not cost too terribly much to run as it qualified for an 80+ Silver ranking.  For $180, this PSU is certainly worth a look.

"Seasonic has been around for a long time-since 1975. It is more well-known for its OEM line of power supply units, but it sells some models retail, as well. It touts the S12D 850W power supply unit as being certified 80PLUS Silver, proving that the unit is at least 85% efficient. Seasonic claims that the unit can achieve 90% efficiency! Add that with a five year warranty and a nearly silent fan and this is one unit worth seriously considering. ThinkComputers has the review."

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Memories of Peltier Thu, Oct 22, 2009 - 12:39 PM
If you want the most out of your memory subsystem, a shroud and three tiny fans aren't going to cut it, you need the Corsair Cooling Ice T30 TEC Memory Cooler.  It claims to be able to offer you temperatures 20C below ambient and has enough intelligence to keep your memory above the dew point so you need not worry about shorts.  Legit Reviews took it out for a try and reached hefty enough overclocks that the Xeon w3570 was having trouble keeping up.

"When testing the T30 I kept kicking myself for not having a single-stage phase change system or liquid nitrogen so I could kick up the CPU's uncore and push the CAS7 and CAS8 frequencies. Now keeping that thought in mind, where does the T30 fit in with the myriad of other cooling devices on the market? For use within the typical system the T30 would define overkill. The H30 makes a lot more sense, especially for those individuals who already have their case watercooled. But the T30 isn't about making sense, it is about pushing the boundaries and for those select few people who are willing, the T30 is there to give them that extra edge. This is definitely a product geared towards the small group of competitive benchmarkers at the tip top of the horde of computer enthusiasts..."

Here are some more Memory articles from around the web:

Click Here to go to Memory  Memory


A big case isn't everything Wed, Oct 21, 2009 - 04:00 PM
With a plethora of coolers standing about 1' high and weighing in at about a kilogram, it is the day of the huge case.  Small, slim cases just can't handle most of the high end coolers, but using the stock cooler is just embarrasing. Hardware Secrets has found a solution in the form of the Scythe Big Shuriken heatsink.  It still uses a 120mm fan and sports enough mass to move heat better than a stock cooler, and it will still fit in slim cases.  If your case is big enough to take a full sized cooler you would be better off using one but if you don't have the room, then check out the full review.
PC Power & Cooling comes with silver and takes the gold Mon, Oct 19, 2009 - 03:53 PM
When a PSU includes a circuit diagram you can be fairly sure that the makers are proud of what they built so it is not surprising to see one included with the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 920W PSU.  The bad news about this PSU is that silence is a relative term in a PSU approaching the kilowatt range, so don't expect a silent PSU.  The good news is much more interesting, it is a 80+ Silver PSU, its single 12V output is capable of up to 74A and that power is nice and smooth.  Read on to see why Lee handed it a Gold Award.

"The new PC Power & Cooling Silencer 910W power supply demonstrated excellent voltage regulation, very good efficiency and produced exceptionally clean outputs. The Silencer 910 can deliver up to 74A (888W) of +12V continuous power at up to 50°C operating temperature and can support dual, high-end video cards with four PCI-E connectors. The build quality of the 910 power supply is excellent and it is backed by PC Power & Cooling’s 5-year warranty and tech support."

Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:

Click Here to go 

to Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Rounding up the cool kids Fri, Oct 16, 2009 - 06:09 PM
It can be hard for new cooler companies to break into the market without stellar performance and enough luck that they get noticed and talked about by the tech community.  Zalman is fairly well known in some circles, Kingwin as well but the Thermal Transtech International Corporation is definitely not.  Drop by [H]ard|OCP to see how these coolers fit into the pack.
The shallow end of the LAN Party Wed, Oct 14, 2009 - 01:59 PM
DFI's LANParty series is more known for the high end features they sport, but there is a low cost end to the line as well, currently held by the BloodIron.  It is a G41 based board, which supports the ageing socket 775 and it sports onboard video supplied by the Intel X4500 Media Accelerator and an ICH7 chip for onboard audio.  A retail socket 775 processor a hard drive and some DDR2 and you have a running system.  NinjaLane gave it 5 out of 5, not for its 3D performance but because it lets you put together a family PC or HTPC for very little money down.

"In terms of basic motherboards you can't go wrong with the DFI BloodIron G41, this MicroATX motherboard not only supports the latest Intel 775 processors but comes with an onboard graphics processor giving you the flexibility to use this system in a variety of different situations from a high-end HTPC application to a budget gaming or family rig."

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Motherboards  Motherboards


Silverstone's grand piano Tue, Oct 13, 2009 - 07:04 PM
SilverStone is known for gorgeous cases, usually small and purpose built for HTPCs but almost always sporting a piano finish.  Their newest, the Grandia GD03 keeps the styling but is scaled up to handily fit a full AtX board inside.  That size increase has enabled them to rethink their front panel and the way the internals are installed.  Find out how well they pulled it off at Phoronix

"SilverStone is one of the brands we enjoy testing for computer cases as they always seem to drive innovations into their products from the Sugo to the Raven to their very impressive Temjin series. One of the SilverStone product lines that we had not reviewed up to this point was the Grandia series of HTPC enclosures, but that changed when we tested out the SilverStone Grandia GD03. The GD03 is an ATX enclosure that integrates dual hot-swappable HDD bays, an aluminum front panel, and a design to deliver quite yet cool performance."

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Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


They sound better than they look Fri, Oct 09, 2009 - 03:02 PM
If you are in the market for a set of full headphones, the Sennheiser HD 438 are worth a look at $89.  Even if you tend to move around a bit the 10' cable should keep you happy and the quality of sound impressed Digital Trends.  Unfortunately, the build quality of the headsets leaves a bit to be desired, they are fairly fragile and they are not exactly the most attractive set of cans around.

"Popular manufacturer Sennheiser just unleashed a trio of cushy cans under its HD headphone line. Designed for lounging around the house or for use on the go, the HD 428 focuses on lower frequencies and powerful bass, while the top-of-the-line HD 448 boasts the best details. We got our sweaty mitts on the middle-of-the-road offering, the HD 438, which the company says is all about a natural signature sound, with booming bass as well."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Audio Corner


Some things old and some new; OCZ may have a power supply for you Fri, Oct 09, 2009 - 12:28 PM
The new OCZ Z Series Z850Mis an 850W PSU that holds on to some of PC Power & Cooling's original specs and adds some new features as well.  The single 12V rail remains, this one delivering 850W or 71A maximum; what is new is the modular cabling and the 80+ Gold rating.  [H]ard|OCP tested this middle weight PSU and in the end declared it to be the best PSU they have received from OCZ, but it is a pity that the 80+ Gold rating comes at such a premium price.

"Today we see what OCZ means when it says, "True to our enthusiast roots..." OCZ claims ultra-high efficiency and has gotten an 80plus.org Gold Certification. The 850 watt realm has proved elusive for great power supplies. Now to see if this PSU can garner an [H] "certification?"

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Cases & Cooling  CASES & COOLING


Rope yourself some cables Thu, Oct 08, 2009 - 12:38 PM
Jumping into the steampunk modding craz, or simple looking for a way to make your case mod look unique?  Maybe you just need better cable management and are sick of zip ties slowly chewing through your insulation.  Whatever the reason, drop by MAKE:Blog for a tutorial in the ancient art of cable lacing.  Not only is it attractive, it works rather well.
Corsair launches 950 Watt power supply for gamers and PC enthusiasts Tue, Oct 06, 2009 - 05:22 PM

FREMONT, Calif., Oct. 6, 2009 - Corsair, a worldwide leader in high performance memory and computer products, today announced the launch of the Corsair TX950W power supply unit (PSU), the latest addition to the award-winning TX-series of high-quality PSUs.

The TX950W has been designed to meet the demanding requirements of PC enthusiasts, creative professionals and gamers. The TX950W is built using industrial-grade components to ensure clean and stable voltages, and has been qualified to operate at 100% load at an ambient temperature of 50°C for unmatched reliability.

The Corsair TX950W boasts a dedicated +12V rail capable of delivering 78A (936W), which equates to 98.5% of the PSU's total power output. This makes it ideal for extreme, multi-GPU gaming systems using the latest multi-core CPUs, such as Intel Core i5 and Core i7-series, all of which require high amounts of stable power at 12V.

"Corsair's TX650W, TX750W, and TX850W PSUs have dominated the market by offering superior performance and quality at affordable prices," said Jim Carlton, Vice President of Marketing at Corsair. "The TX950W raises the bar even higher, thanks to 80 PLUS Bronze efficiency, low noise, and output that's capable of reliably powering even the most demanding Dream PCs."

Thanks to the 80 PLUS Bronze certification, which guarantees at least 85% energy efficiency at typical load levels, the TX950W produces minimal waste heat and is extremely quiet. The high-quality 140mm cooling fan remains at its minimum speed until approximately 65% of the PSU's total load. Six 6+2-pin PCI-E cables are provided and the TX950W has been thoroughly tested for compatibility with NVIDIA SLI and ATI Crossfire solutions. The TX950W also boasts extra-long cables to support full-tower chassis.

The Corsair TX950W is available immediately from retailers and e-tailers, and is backed by a five-year warranty and comprehensive customer support via telephone, email, forum and the Tech Support Express helpdesk.


This Raven is like a writing desk Tue, Oct 06, 2009 - 12:28 PM
The subject of Steve's latest review, the Silverstone Raven RV02 ATX enclosure, is rather large at 8.3" by 19.8" by 25.3" and it weighs in over 30lbs.  That size allows the usage of three 180mm fans as well as a 120mm fan that looks small by comparison.  Find how it looks and how well it performs and what has changed since the first revision of the Raven in his full review at the top of the page.

"The RV02 is a huge improvement from the bulkier RV01, and even throws in a few additional features as well as drops the price a bit form the original Raven case. The rotated motherboard is an excellent addition that added quite a bit of real estate for installing parts, but it also added room for more hardware like graphics cards and TV tuners. The hard drive cage's suspension system also worked as advertised, but it would have been nice to make it removable through the inside of the case instead of out through the front optical bays."

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