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Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooler Review @ Bigbruin.com
March 25th, 2009
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Overall, the cooler seems to be well made and so far the design intrigues me. The more compact size might be good for HTPCs or other computers with side panel fans that interfere with larger heatpipe towers. I just hope that the two ’smaller’ fans can compete with the noise level and cooling performance of a 120mm unit.
Sparkle GeForce 9800 GTX+ Graphics Card Review @ Bigbruin.com
March 12th, 2009
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The strongest selling point of the Sparkle GeForce 9800 GTX+ is that it stays cool and quiet at all times, which coupled with an integrated HDMI port makes it a good fit for an HTPC. It can handle games just fine when the settings aren’t turned up too high, and the multimedia capabilities are more than adequate for any HD playback.
Sparkle GeForce 9800 GTX+ Graphics Card Review @ Bigbruin.com
Latosta Portable Laptop Stand Review @ Bigbruin
February 25th, 2009
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For those with a compatible computer, the Latosta portable laptop stand is an extremely lightweight and compact stand that can make it much more comfortable to use your laptop for extended periods of time. The typing angle created is more comfortable than a flat surface, and the elevated screen takes some of the strain off of your neck.
Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 Graphics Card Review @ Bigbruin.com
February 25th, 2009
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The Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD4670 is a passively cooled graphics card with plenty of features other than its silent operation that should appeal to HTPC owners. With an integrated HDMI port, DirectX 10.1, and Shader Model 4.1 support, it offers some of the things you look for in a gaming graphics card, but with an obvious focus on home theater performance.
Tuniq Potency 650W Power Supply @ Bigbruin
February 19th, 2009
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The Tuniq Potency 650W power supply is a no nonsense unit that will get the job done on a basic computer system without wasting your money on bells and whistles. It has decent features and specifications, was able to power the test configuration without issue, and it remains cool and quiet during operation.
Lian Li PC-C36 Muse @ Bigbruin
February 9th, 2009
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The Lian Li PC-C36 Muse HTPC case is a very well made case that has a lot of nice features. Its brushed black anodized aluminum construction is not only clean and elegant, it looks at home in the typical home entertainment center. It’s clear Lian Li never intended this case to house one of the more powerful graphics cards, but that’s not really an issue in the HTPC market segment.
Leadtek GTX260 EXTREME+ @ Bigbruin
February 7th, 2009
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Aside from a few issues, the Leadtek Limited WinFast GTX260 EXTREME+ is a very impressive video card. It provides strong performance in 3D games, it has the ability to handle any multimedia tasks with ease, and it is so quiet that it is well suited for use in just about any type of system. It could be the card to provide some gaming muscle to your desktop, LAN rig, or HTPC!
ASUS P5N7A-VM Motherboard @ Bigbruin
February 5th, 2009
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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 (9×333) with a stock Intel heatsink.
