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Coolermaster Hyper N520
January 28th, 2009
With our trip to CES this year I had a rare opportunity to get a closer look at Coolermaster’s current and upcoming heatsinks. They showed off their “Top Dog” the v10 mostly, and because of that coverage and enthusiasm the new Hyper N520 was slightly overshadowed. Targeted at the budget crowd who is looking to get the best performance for their money I don’t expect it to break any records. But we have been surprised before, will the Hyper N520 out perform its competitors?
Razer Lycosa Mirror Edition
January 26th, 2009
As much of a fan of Razer products that I have been I have yet to own one of their keyboards. When they brought out the Tarantula keyboard I seriously considered picking one up. But after testing one out I decided to go with the 2nd generation G15 that I still use. Because of this I was really excited when our friends at Razer asked if we wanted to take a look at their new keyboard (ok so I may have begged a little). Today I am going to tell you my experiences with this new keyboard, will it live up to the hype of all of the other Razer products?
Soul Calibur 4
August 20th, 2008
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When I first started playing Soul Calibur 4, I was convinced it was going to be simply an upgraded version of the previous titles. The main menu screen presented several familiar options- single player, versus, character creator, and the museum. Anxious to see how the new installment ran, I jumped straight into the classic Arcade mode. Like everyone who bought SC4, Star Wars fan or not, I was curious to see how the new guest characters performed. Since I had the 360 version, my special character was Yoda, a fighter whose height often gives him an advantage parallel to that of Oddjob. While in the previous SC games one could select from several costumes and weapons, the only customization available was between two appearances. So I chose one at random and began my first match. The screen that reveals which two characters will be matched up has been upgraded; a black background with the character striking some battle poses now introduces each side. And, of course, the on-stage character intro that allows for some trash talking and taunts still exists, and even seems to posses a higher CG quality than the actual gameplay, similar to a cut scene. Read more…
Thermaltake BlacX
August 1st, 2008
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The ability to hot swap hard drives has been around for a long time in the business market. You don’t see it as often in the home or even enthusiast market. Thermaltake came out with their BlacX recently, giving people the ability to hot swap hard drives into a small box on your desk. This gives you the ability to use hard drives the same way that tape drives and zip drives have done in the past. With 750 gig hard drives breaking under the hundred dollar mark you can backup and swap hard drives freely without worrying about running out of space. We are going to take a closer look at the USB2.0 model number N0028USU. We are going to see how it performs compared to other hard drive enclosures that we have looked at to date, along with how a product like this can change the way people backup and transfer files. Click to read more.
TRITTON USB Sharenet
July 31st, 2008
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The widespread use of laptops in today’s on the go lifestyle has accelerated the use of external storage due to the smaller hard drive space in laptops. With a lot of homes having more than one computer, you now have people looking for easy ways to share there files between computers. Most of the time this means you are unplugging your external and plugging it into other computers. TRITTON has produced the USB Sharenet for people who have this problem. Considering in our household we have 4 people online and sharing files at any given time this product is perfect for us, if it works the way its described. Click to find out how it worked for us.
Coolink GFXChilla
July 24th, 2008
Considering the performance and sound of stock video card coolers it’s amazing that more people don’t buy aftermarket coolers. As we have found out in the past one of the big hurdles is how intimidating and difficult to install they can be. Coolink a Kolink company decided to put there spin on the situation with their GFXChilla. We are going to see how it performs compared to the stock cooler along with the Thermalright HR-03 GT that we tested about a month ago. Considering that we found Coolink because they shared a book with our friends over at Noctua we have high expectations of their products. Click to see how they performed. Read more…
VIZO Milano Media Enclosure
July 22nd, 2008
Just a few days ago I was considering building a media pc. It just so happens that VIZO provided us there Milano to review. It is described as a media hard drive enclosure. Can it prove to be an alternative to a media pc? Read on to find out… Read more…
GELID Solutions GC1 Thermal Paste *updated*
July 9th, 2008
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When it comes to starting a new business, a PC Cooling business wouldn’t be on the top of my list. This is simply because of the amount of competition there is out there. So when you hear about a new company pops up, after you finish telling them they are crazy, you find out what there angle is. Gelid Solutions is focusing on “virtually silent, high- performance and top quality thermal solutions” sounds like something we might be interested in isn’t it? After reading a little more about their company I also noticed that it is founded by Gebhard SCHERRER and VC TRAN, both of them have been in the PC Cooling industry for a number of years. They knew what they were getting into; ether they are crazy or they know what they are doing, I’m hoping that it’s the latter. While they are working on their first heatsink release they have released there thermal paste the GELID Solutions GC1. Today we are going to check it out. Click to read more. Read more…
Kensington Si670m bluetooth mouse and Micro USB Adapter
July 9th, 2008
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With Bluetooth becoming so widespread it’s not a big surprise that it is popular with the mobile computing crowd. In fact a lot of the midrange to high end notebooks are equipped with Bluetooth from the start. People with integrated Bluetooth can pick up a nice mouse like Kensington’s Si670m and not have to worry about a large USB dongle for their wireless mouse. Unfortunately my laptop doesn’t have integrated Bluetooth, but Kensington didn’t forget people like me. There USB Micro Bluetooth Adapter is made small enough to stay plugged in all of the time. Today we are going to check out the two items together. Click to read more. Read more…
VIZO UFO 4 port USB Hub
July 4th, 2008
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Having been looking for a powered USB hug to replace the junk one that came with our rock band kit I’ve learned two things. One, it’s hard to find any one hub that people can recommend. It seems the quality of almost every hub is hit or miss at best. Two it’s hard to find one that stands out. VIZO has been kind enough to send one of their “UFO” USB hubs along with a power kit. Let’s find out how they perform. Read more…
Noctua NF-B9 92mm Fan
July 3rd, 2008
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When we realized we would be doing a test on the Thermaltake HR-03 GT GPU heatsink we were very exited until we realized we didn’t have a 92mm fan to fit it. After a few emails Noctua was kind enough to send out one of their NF-B9’s. After finishing up testing on the NF-P12 120mm fan I already had high hopes for this 92mm. Would the NF-B9 perform up to the standard set by its big brother the NF-P12? Those are big shoes to fill, find out by clicking to read more. Read more…
Crackheads candy on “The Big Idea”
July 1st, 2008
You may remember our Crackheads candy review. Check out this video from John the inventor on “Minutes to Millions segment of Donnie Deutsch’s, “The Big Idea”, panelists included Kevin Nealon and others.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
July 1st, 2008
The vast majority of individuals who put their MGS4 disc into their system had been waiting for it since Hideo Kojima announced it as the final chapter of Solid Snake. Being the first in the series to be on the current next-gen systems, expectations were all the more elevated. There are few sequels that actually deliver on such prospects, especially when carrying on a storyline that has spanned over seven titles. Guns of the Patriots is really nothing new; same Snake, same stealth action, same particularly loud sound blip to let you know that yes, they’ve seen you. Which is one of the most impressive aspects of the game: its still an unbelievable experience. In an era of sequels, developers attempt to pull gamers back to a series by introducing some new aspect of gameplay, which usually ends up second-rate. MGS4 may not revolutionary, but fans of the series didn’t necessarily want something new. Besides, the series has already established itself as leader in the stealth genre. The only two features that have seen some adjustment are the camera view (Guns of the Patriots takes a more first-person view) and, of course, the graphics.
Click to read more
Nyko 360 Charge Station
June 29th, 2008
There isn’t anything like being in the middle of a game and having to stop to change batteries. Let’s hope you have fresh batteries someplace in the house. If not its going to mean you’re going to have to make a quick trip to the store to pick up few AA batteries. This is where Nyko comes in with their Charge Station for the Xbox 360. Check out what we thought of it.
Launch of GELID Solutions
June 20th, 2008
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GELID Solutions designs and manufactures innovative, virtually silent & high-performance CPU coolers, case fans, thermal compound and other computer hardware for both gamers and silent enthusiasts. They provide computer hardware distributors, retailers and system integrators with top quality one-stop thermal solutions – from bearings to thermal compound, from design to shipping, from the molding of the fan to the print on the box – with state-of-the-art machines and experienced staff. Expect to see more of them around very soon; in fact we will be taking a first look at their thermal compound over the next week. Take a look at there website to see what they are all about! www.gelidsolutions.com
Thermalright HR-03 GT
June 18th, 2008
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As we have talked about before keeping your pc cool is very important. Considering the cost of video cards this is especially important. Not to mention that if you’re looking to get a little extra performance out of your setup you will be looking at overclocking your video card. That’s where company’s like Thermalright come into play. They are known for their top quality heatsinks. Today we will be looking at their HR-03 GT VGA Cooler. This is a redesign of one of their normal video card heat sinks made to fit some of the newer video cards. Click to read more about it.
Krusell Radical messenger bag for Laptop
June 11th, 2008
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Krusell is a Swedish company who is known normally for making cases for cell phones and other portable electrical devices. They have recently branched into the laptop bag arena and have provided us with a sample for us to check out. They have provided us with a Radical Messenger bag for a 15.4” laptop. Is Krusell ready to enter the laptop market? We will find out after the jump. Read more…
Noctua at Computex
June 9th, 2008
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Computex was all of last week. Interested in hearing about upcoming product releases and seeing pictures of the amazing displays I spent most of the week digging for anything I could find from some of our main sponsors. Noctua send us a few pictures and some information on there display at Computex. Click to check out the pictures and see the upcoming products. Read more…
Evo-G Mouse Bungee
June 6th, 2008
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When Evo-G told me they would be sending a mouse bungee for review my mind was racing picturing things like how you would strap the little guy in, how high in the air would he be jumping from, and where I am going to get a live mouse. After my little day dream I realized that it was a product to keep your mouse cord from getting tangled with anything else on your desk. How did they know my desk is always a mess? Click to find out how it worked out for me. Read more…
Tuniq TX-2 Thermal Compound
June 5th, 2008
CPU heat has presented an interesting problem since the dawn of the computer decades ago. Whether you are a hardcore overclocker, or are merely attempting to build the most stable system possible, extraordinary cooling solutions must be relied upon in order to dissipate heat in a reliable manner. In order to keep pace with newer and hotter components, companies like Tuniq, a division of Sunbeamtech, offer up creative new products to help beat the heat. Tuniq TX-2 is their latest thermal compound, and we’re going to see how it measures up. Read more…
C4 Mouse Pads
May 30th, 2008
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We find ourselves once again taking a look at a gaming mouse pad, well two. Today we look at the C4 NGen 04 and the C4 NGen, both products from C4 Mouseware (a CSHyde company). With a Super Slick & Super Fast Teflon surface will the glide to the top of our mouse pad pile or stay planted on our desk?
Bawls g33k b33r
May 28th, 2008
If you haven’t tried Original Bawls it’s about time you did. Actually it’s crazy that I have to say original, it wasn’t that long that they had one flavor. Now they have sugar free original, Bawls Cherry and their newest drink G33k B33r. Today we will be checking out the G33k B33r the first ever high caffeine root beer. Click to read more
Thermaltake V-1
May 13th, 2008
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When it comes to CPU heatsinks there is such a wide variety that it’s hard to even get an idea as to what’s good and what’s bad. Even once you figure out what performs, you have to figure out if it’s going to fit in your case. Thermaltake has provided us today with there V-1 heatsink. See what we thought.
Noctua presents NH-C12P 6 heat pipe cooler
May 5th, 2008
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Vienna, May 5th 2008 – Noctua presented today its new premium class CPU cooler NH-C12P. Being equipped with 6 heat pipes and the award-winning NF-P12 120mm fan, the NH-C12P achieves excellent performance and outstanding quietness of operation. The down-facing c-type design allows for lower height and also provides additional cooling for motherboard components through two Airflow-Gaps. Read more…
In Win Metal Suit GD
May 2nd, 2008
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In Win Metal Suit GD
What you choose to put your computer in says a lot about you. People use their case as a way to express themselves, or even just as a way to show off. Once you pick something that you like the looks of your not out of the water yet. You have to keep in mind the size of your motherboard, how many drives you need, and most importantly how good does the case cool the components. In Win has provided us one of their new gamer focused cases the Metal Suit GD to take a look at. We will find out how well it looks, performs, and holds up to the life of a gamer. Click to read more about the In Win Metal Suit GD.
