
When it comes to pointers for the computer there are multiple solutions. Most of them come in the traditional flat on a mouse pad form, but occasionally a company comes up with an innovative way to control the pointer on our screen. Genius has developed a “ring mouse” and I have the pleasure of looking at their second version of this particular design in the Ring Mouse 2. I will look at the device’s versatility and functionality in this review and see how it stacks up not only as a pointer, but also as an alternative solution to our browsing needs.

Let’s be honest, Asus has a whole product line full of good motherboards. So much that it really takes a special motherboard to stand out from the crowd. There has been one specific board that has stuck with me for the past year and a half though, back from when I took a visit to the Asus office and they pulled it out to show me. That motherboard would be the Maximus V Formula. I’m sure you are wondering what made it stand out, especially considering all of the motherboards we have in the office, including boards like the Rampage IV. Well I only have a limited amount of space in the opening; you will have to peek inside our review to find out.

Hey guys and girls, if you have been around the site or at some events you may have picked up that I have a thing for small form factor PC builds aka LAN rigs. I’m sure a few of you are laughing thinking about how big of a monster our “Fridge” build is, but that is exactly why it is important to have a rig that you can just grab and go without breaking your back. Last year I put together a rig that we called Lunchbox 2 using a Lian Li PC-TU200. After almost a year I had a few things I was interested in swapping around that I think some of you might be interested in.

One of the biggest down falls to having a smaller form factor case and motherboard has always been lack of room for aftermarket cooling solutions, namely water cooling. Cooler master has released the N series brand of cases, a new line that hopes to tackle the water cooling conundrum that many small form factor users are faced with. The N series is touted as a mainstream computer case aimed at the masses, a simple, cheap solution that will house all of the gaming essentials. And as an enthusiast, it might not be your next rig, but it could very well be a candidate for your next LAN rig or for a budding gamer friend.

As a necessary evil, gadget batteries, require charging from time to time and in this era where gadgets now dominate our everyday life it has become difficult to even find room to even plug them all in. For the most part longer battery life and charging stations have been the answer, but thanks to Newer Technologies there is a much easier solution to this problem and it is as simple as changing the wall outlet you plug everything into already. Follow me as I take a look at the do it yourselfers’ solution to the charging problem, the Power2U AC/USB wall outlet.
As we reflect on 2011 and what 2012 will have to offer I can promise you two things. You can expect to have a great time gaming in the New Year both at LanOC events and online with us also. Also you can expect to see exciting things with new series video cards and new mainstream CPU’s coming from all of the manufactures. That will keep us busy in the New Year and make sure you will have the fast rig possible to enjoy your games in 2012. Have a great new year! Here are todays Affiliate postings.
Cases
NZXT Phantom Case Review @ OCC
Bitfenix Raider Case Review @ Hardware Secrets
Antec P280 Performance One Case Review @ Ninjalane
Danger Den Q20 Black Series "Shadow" Acrylic Chassis @ TweakTown
Antec Eleven Hundred @ techPowerUp
Enermax Fulmo Advanced Mid-tower Case Review @ Hi Tech Legion
Video Card’s
Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 LP Review @ Neoseeker
Motherboard
GA-Z68XP-UD5 Motherboard Review @ Hi Tech Legion
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB DDR3-1600 @ Benchmark Reviews
Storage
Zalman ZM-VE200 2.5” HDD Enclosure/Virtual Drive Review @ Tweaknews
Hitachi Touro Mobile Pro 750GB Portable Hard Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB Flash Drive Review @ Techgage
Kingston HyperX 3.0 64GB Flash Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
Hitachi LifeStudio Desk Plus 2TB External Hard Drive @ eTeknix.com
Network
Trendnet 200Mbps Powerline Networking @ BCCHardware
Input Devices
Steelseries Cataclysm Gaming Mouse Review @ HardwareLOOK
PSU’s
FSP Aurum CM 650w PSU Review @ XSReviews
Super Flower GOLDEN GREEN 1000W Power Supply Review @ Real World Labs
Cooling
Zalman CNPS11X Cpu Cooler @ Rbmods
Contest
Patriot Viper Xtreme 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Contest @ Legit Reviews
Win a Antec Kuhler Liquid Cooling System @ Bigbruin.com
Other
HD 7970: Bulldozer vs. Sandy Bridge vs. Nehalem @ techPowerUp