Posted by
Lvcoyote on
10 March 2010, 10:58 am
Introduction
So you’re ready to dive in to the world of Raid Arrays but are unsure or intimidated by the process? Although this might be a new endeavor for you, fear not, the process is actually rather simple. This guide will take you step by step through the process of setting up a Raid Array on your Intel based controller. Luckily the GUI Intel uses to set up Raid Arrays has not changed much over the years, so this guide should be useful for both current production systems and older ones as well.
Continue reading ‘Setting up a Raid Array on Intel Controllers’ »
Introduction
Its not often that we see any major changes in the computing industry regarding your computers memory. Every few years a new standard of memory appears that offers the next boost beyond that of the old. DDR3 is no different to this trend, offering greater speeds at voltages that are gradually getting lower. Today sees the beginning of a new eara where one company has aimed to take this trend to a whole new level, that only a few months ago would have seemed an impossibility!
Continue reading ‘G.Skill ECO DDR3 1600mhz cl8 1.35v 4GB kit (2×2GB)’ »
Introduction
In the computer industry, cases are a rather hit and miss affair. With some monstrosities such as the forthcoming Thermaltake Ten to the elegant Lian Li cases, we have seen computer chassis come and go.
Remember the days when computer cases were a drab off-white colour and full of razor sharp edges? In those days building a computer was considered baptism by fire! The nearest a consumer could get to an elegant case was from Apple and these had the resemblance of ‘boiled sweets’ In today’s world we see many types of computer enclosures and in many interesting shapes. To add another factor into this ‘whirlpool’ of chassis configurations; we now have the consumers themselves making their own cases!
Company Background
Fractal Design was founded in Sweden in the year 2007 by a Mr Hannes Wallin! They first entered the Scandinavian Market in 2007 and two years later they had explored additional markets in Europe; namely Germany, France, Switzerland and the UK amongst others. They also have recently signed a contract with their new distributor in Australia. In addition, during the second Quarter of 2010 they will enter the North American market!
Their goal is to be widely recognized for a high end level of design and products. Fractal is putting great effort into choosing the right partners in each region, and their strategy is to work with a good structure of selected distribution partners and retail/e-tailers!
One of the core ideas of Fractal Design is to provide products with an extraordinary design level. The principles of their products have been stylish, simplistic and clean; which they prefer to call the Scandinavian design! Their ethos is to produce products that incorporate the above, but without compromising quality, functionality and pricing.
Posted by
Rawz on
2 March 2010, 10:42 pm
Introduction
Over the course of the past six months, there has been one brand of cooler causing a real stir among many cooling ranks. This reviewer even had Thermalright banging on ones door demanding answers as to why the Titan Fenrir is so good in the reviews they have seen. Today, we shall be taking a look at a cooler that many consider the best bang for buck on the market. If you’re reading this and you’re a big overclocker, you know all too well the importance of choosing the ‘right’ cooler for the job, but at the same time not costing so much that you’d might as well jump on the water-cooling bandwagon.
Titan was launched in 1992 with a focus on low cost cooling solutions for the masses. Generally speaking, Titan hasn’t had the best track record until they struck a bit of fortune with the Fenrir. Previously, many Titan coolers have had less than stellar performance, let alone great build quality. Titan looks to put their uneven past behind them with an up to date Fenrir – the V2, meaning the cooler now supports LGA 1156 out of the box. Something which Titan now hopes will gain them an even bigger majority share of the Intel and AMD cooler market.
Specifications
- For AMD Socket AM2+/AM2/AM3/940/939/754/K8
- For Intel Socket 775/1156/1366
- PWM intelligent controller: automatically adjust fan to provide wonderful balance between performance and rumble generated from CPU
- 12mm Fan – 800 to 2200RPM
- Heat Pipe Direct Touch: provide the maximum heat conductivity and draw heat away immediately
- Unique fin design: reduce air resistance to enhance cooling performance
Cooler Master has been in business for more than a decade. They were “founded with the mission of providing the industry’s best thermal solutions.” The Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced that we’ll be looking at today, which is a significant update to the venerable CM690, a budget champion for wire management with superb airflow, aims to push them further toward that mission.
Continue reading ‘Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced Review’ »
Posted by
Lvcoyote on
25 February 2010, 11:17 pm
Intel’s newest chipset offerings, the H55 and H57, promise to bring good performance at a reasonable price. The chipsets are very similar with only a few major differences. The most glaring difference is the lack of RAID support on the H55, while the H57 does offer it. The other major difference is the amount of supported USB ports, the H55 supports 12, while the H57 supports 14. Combine either of these chipsets with one of the Intel processors offering built in graphics, and you’re well on your way to a price-conscious build. This review will be on EVGA’s H55 offering, the 123-CD-E635-KR .
How will EVGA implement the H55 chipset while keeping with it’s reputation of building high performance and highly overclockable motherboards? Read on as we explore this latest offering from EVGA! Continue reading ‘EVGA H55 (123-CD-E635-KR) Motherboard Review’ »
Posted by
Rawz on
24 February 2010, 5:38 am
We all remember the good old days; arguing who has the best cooler – you either were a TRUE or IFX-14 lover! This reviewer however was a TRUE fan; simply down to how easy the heatsink was to fit on the board, as compared to the huge IFX-14. However; both did have with their own issues. The IFX-14’s downfall was largely due to a poor base. Today we see an eagerly awaited upgrade of the IFX-14 in the form of the ‘Arrow’, but not from Thermalright – instead, a sister company called Cogage.
Continue reading ‘Cogage Arrow CPU Cooler Review’ »
Filed under Cooling, Exclusive, Uncategorized.
Tagged best cpu cooler, cogage, cogage arrow review, cpu cooler king, ifx-14, lmx superleggera, noctua nh-d14, prolimatech mega shadow, san ace h1011, thermalright Venomous X review
Posted by
Rawz on
17 February 2010, 4:18 am
We recall from last year a question that many pondered – just how far can air cooling go? Air cooling can only go so far and it won’t be long until we hit the limit. We’ve already seen some companies take to water cooling solutions with all-in-one kits – some more successful than others. It won’t be long until some of the bigger names start to find new ways to adapt air cooling for the masses and take it to a new level. There are already rumours of vapour chambers and TEC’s in the future. However, one such company that we are reviewing today has taken a step ahead of the big rivals and taken air cooling to a whole new level – liquid metal.
Continue reading ‘The LMX Superleggera Cooler Review – New Cooling King?’ »
Filed under Cooling, Exclusive.
Tagged ARIA PC, best cpu cooler, COOLING KING, DANAMICS, liquid metal, LMX, mega shadow, nh-d14, noctua, Overclocking, prolimatech, REVIEW, SAN ACE, SUPERLEGGREA, thermalright, venomous x, watercool
