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Reviews Around The Web
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Choose Web Reviews from this Maker:
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Monday, February 9, 2009
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When it comes to Xbox 360 ownership, the term "Red Ring of Death" or "RROD" for short, seems part of the vernacular. This is typically
caused by overheating of the system when engaged in long periods of spirited gameplay. When Halo 3 launched, many cases of these RRODs were reported, and a similar number of Xbox 360's were shipped away in little corrugated coffins for repair or replacement. That means that anything to reduce temperatures in our Xbox 360's is welcome and so does NYKO.
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We're writing to let you all know that we have just posted a new article at HotHardware in which we evaluate the features, performance, and value of two high-end Intel X58 Express based motherboards for the Core i7 from Asus and MSI, the Rampage II Extreme and the X58 Eclipse. Come on by the site and check it out...
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Thursday, February 5, 2009
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Sporting a new paint scheme that is sure to turn heads, the TJ10 Nvidia Edition aims to blow enthusiasts away with eye-candy galore, making even the most cynical system builder perform an abrupt about-face. But will Silverstone's newest iteration of its popular Temjin series TJ10 chassis measure up?
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Yes, the Coolbay HX looks similar to the Antec 900, but this chassis from NOX manages to score with additional features, a nice interior paint job and better cooling, making it a choice to be taken very seriously, especially considering the price point.
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Despite packing performance that's a good few frames per second faster than a stock 9800 GT (or the identical 8800 GT for that matter), and overclocking like an absolute BEAST, the XFX GeForce 9800 GT 512MB XXX Editon isn't perfect. At load, its noisy little cooling fan spins up much too early, and will start to annoy after a while, especially as it doesn't really seem to take a whole lot of graphics crunching to get it going.
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Benchmark Reviews has been on the web for over a year now. In that time I've had the pleasure of reviewing some very nice higher end computer items, including mid and full tower cases. While I love the high end market I realize for every high end part sold, there are probably 100's of mid to lower end parts sold. So who's buying these parts? Everyone is that's who. So where do they get their pre purchase information from? Hopefully here at Benchmark Reviews. Cooler Master recognizes there is an audience at this price point and so should we. Today Benchmark Reviews will look at the Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Chassis. A mid tower computer case that appears to be big on features but small on price.
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Today we have the Thermaltake SpinQ CPU cooler, a unique take on cooler designs of the past. The SpinQ is cooled with an 80mm "squirrel cage" type of fan and this fan not only cools the fins of the cooler but air is drawn in both ends and blown out in all directions across the body of the SpinQ. Obviously this cooler is named SpinQ for a reason. While I'm not too sure on the "Q" part, the "Spin" comes from the 30 twist of each fin, creating an overall spiraled design. This gives the SpinQ a previously unseen design of the body. Very flashy, I must say!
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NZXT is a company that started out by producing unique computer cases designed for computer enthusiasts and gamers that were built well, were not based off designs from other manufacturers, and carried a distinct set of features. We have reviewed several NZXT cases at Phoronix, but with time they have expanded to produce other products. One of their first non-enclosure products was a NZXT power supply, which has now led to a complete series of NZXT power supplies, and a thermal controller that can be installed into a 5.25-inch drive bay. Their latest venture, however, has led them to producing a notebook cooler. The NZXT Cryo LX is a large notebook cooler made of aluminum, has an integrated four port USB 2.0 hub, and uses three 120mm fans for active cooling.
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Thermaltake was pushing the boundaries of innovation when they created the SpinQ, focusing on achieving the unique look rather than performance. The performance isn't but for its price, there are competitors who can do much better. Nonetheless, the SpinQ is one of the most visually entrancing coolers I've seen, making it the perfect upgrade for someone who doesn't care about the big OC numbers, but someone interested in modifying their computer's appearance to make coworkers point and stare.
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Although the P5N7A-VM's stock performance would normally be more than enough for most home theater PC or basic home desktop tasks, overclocking could be beneficial. The P5N7A-VM offers very basic overclocking functionality, but it was more than enough to allow me to overclock the Q6600 to 3.0 GHz (9x333) with a stock Intel heatsink.
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But what will come as a surprise to most people is the direction Cooler Master opted to go with the V10. While externally it appears very similar to the air cooler on display at the CES booth, the original consisted mainly of a V8 cooler with an extra bank of fins and a second 120mm fan. But that's not the version we have received for review... oh no. A close look at the product packaging reveals the V10's trump card, 200W HYBRID TEC cooling.
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When I choose a computer case, I typically am drawn towards a couple of things: good looks and cool features that will make building and using the computer enjoyable. NZXT, makers of a wide variety of computer products, sent us a sample of one of their new cases, the NZXT Zero 2 mid-tower computer case, which claims to combine stylish looks with extreme cooling capabilities Can their case live up to these lofty claims? Let?s find out in this case review.
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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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When Enermax contacted us regarding reviewing a power supply for them, we were pleasantly surprised. With such a prime range of PSUs, it?s difficult to see why Enermax would release yet another series of units. However this was made clearer after doing some research?price. All of Enermax?s units top the £60 bracket, but the Pro 82+ series is aimed more so at the low-mid range and the price reflects this. But by still maintaining price, Enermax boasts that the Pro 82 range provides outstanding efficiency and a quiet fan. Let?s see how this 425w unit holds up.
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The latest trend in heatsink design has been to add more heatpipes, more fins, and make everything wider and taller. GELID's Silent Spirit flips this concept on its side with a small heatsink with an unusual design and unique fin shape. With a 100mm fan spinning on average around 1600RPM, 46 max CFM, and only 370g of material, the Gelid Silent Spirit CPU Cooler hopes to pack a lot of punch in a very light frame. It weighs less than half of the popular Thermalright Ultra 120, clears every motherboard I could mount it to, and is silent to boot...
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Ten percent of all 3.5in hard drives sold today are in capacities of 1TB or greater, claims Mark Geenen, President of Trend Focus. For enthusiasts, that number would grow exponentially and with their low cost, rightly so. A few months ago Seagate launched their 1.5TB drive, but it has been plagued with firmware issues that are only now getting resolved. Just as with the graphics card world, hard drive manufacturers play the performance and capacity leapfrog game.
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