With 14 other notebook cooling solutions just posted up here on LanOC Reviews currently and more coming, there is no question that the notebook accessory market is growing quickly. Even with so many notebook coolers on the market, it’s still rare to find many that are made specifically for the gaming crowd. NZXT did just that with their Cryo S cooler for 10-15 inch laptops. Let’s take a closer look at it

This past June we heard news that EVGA’s entire motherboard team jumped ship. It wasn’t long before people found out that that crew went over to Sapphire, a big surprise at the time. With a little time under their belts now we finally have the chance to see the fruits of their labor with Sapphires introduction of their Pure Black lineup. Today we will be taking a look at the Sapphire Pure Black X58, Sapphire’s first 1366 Socket motherboard.

There's only one thing worse than having to pack up a 70-pound gaming rig to go to a LAN party: Packing two. Being married to a gaming girl is wonderful but it does have the downside that I have to pack up and transport two rigs for every LAN we travel to. After building a Shuttle for myself it was only a matter of time before I miniaturized her rig also. Looking for any excuse to upgrade her I contacted Lian Li about a Mini ITX case that they carried and went on with selecting the rest of her parts list. That case is the Lian Li Mini-Q PC-Q08, with Lian Li’s style and quality I have high hopes!

Back in June I had the chance to take a look at a a Mini ITX test bench from Lian Li called the T6. This wasn’t Lian Li’s only Mini ITX solution, nor their only Mini ITX test bench. Today we will be taking a look at their PC-Q06 test bench. The main difference between the Q06 to the T6 would be T6’s fully open design as opposed to the Q06’s half enclosed design. We loved the T6, let’s dig in to find out how well the PC-Q06 performs.

Six years have passed since Jonathan 'Fatal1ty' Wendel met with the minds of Abit Corporation to design a motherboard optimized for PC gaming enthusiasts. That board not only met expectations, but also excelled by including many of the features that gamers sought as standard. Just last month, an announcement of a new partnership between Fatal1ty and ASRock was unveiled, birthing a modern version of the gamer's board. A lot has changed since 2004, and today we put it to the test of next-generation gaming.

With the launch of LGA 1155 from Intel, MSI is taking the opportunity to expose a technology the processor giant began a few years ago. Unified Extensible Firmware Interface is out to take the throne from your computer's BIOS, and the P67A is equipped to help the revolution. Along with putting MSI's Sandy Bridge board against the best the gaming industry has to offer, we also take a look at the new approach to pre-OS operations.

Gigabyte surprised a lot of people recently when a few previews of their upcoming P67 motherboards showed a change in PCB color from the blue they have been known for to a flat black. Some of their models including the H67 that we tested earlier will still sport the Blue PCB but the P67A-UD4 that we also received sports the stealth look along with redesigned heatsink’s to match. We expect to see the performance Gigabyte is known for but we are curious to see what else they have up their sleeve with the first P67 motherboard we have seen from them.

In the craziness that is an Intel launch with one of the largest electronic trade shows only days away we have been in the middle testing and writing about a whole collection of Sandy Bridge based motherboards. Even though we have all of these boards to test we only have two H67 based motherboards, the Intel DH67BL board we tested HERE and Gigabytes entry level H67A-UD3H. Gigabytes entry level motherboards are still feature filled and I expect this one to be no different.

As we ring in the New Year Intel is prepping the launch of their newest processor family along with a new socket and chipset to go along with it. Intel’s newest processor family is based on the new Sandy Bridge microarchitecture, a complete change from the Nehalem microarchitecture that we have seen for the past few years. With Sandy Bridge we also have H61, H67, and P67 chipsets sporting a new LGA 1155 socket that is very similar to the old 1156 socket. Today we are going to take a closer look at Intel’s i5-2500K along with their DH67BL motherboard.

Yet another lesson I learned thanks to my laptop in CES was the task of flying with it. I had heard enough stories that carrying-on my notebook was a necessity, and after seeing our luggage return, I'm glad I did. I stored my laptop amidst the rest of my carry-on items, an assortment of notepads, gum, and a few magazines. With January in Ohio usually consisting of blizzards, I was also wearing a coat and boots. Needless to say, securing myself through the airport checkpoint took a little longer than it should have. In my ultimate quest to better prepare myself for CES this year, I jumped at the opportunity to test out CODi's checkpoint-friendly laptop backpack.

With X58 motherboards ranging in price from just over $150 to a crazy $600, it can be daunting to find a nice mix of features and quality without breaking the bank. Gigabyte has a range of X58 boards separated with the UDx moniker. The UD stands for Ultra Durable and the 'x' indicating the number of special features, making it easy to spot the more expensive and features filled boards. Today we are taking a look at the X58A-UD5, a mid-range 1366 socket motherboard from Gigabyte. With a price point less than half of their UD9, it has the potential to be a perfect mix of value and performance. Let’s take a look.

Prior to the latest entry in Thermaltake's notebook cooling line, widescreen users were capped at a restrictive 15". That limit is expanded to 17" with their latest line, the massive 23cm fan (get it?) occupying half of the total surface area of models. With a CPU cooler from the same company keeping my main rig's temperatures down and a hungry widescreen gaming laptop, I'm anxious to put this new product to the test. Today, Thermaltake has provided us with a sample to do just that.

Toting my 17" laptop around the CES showfloor for half a day was enough to sell me on the idea of netbooks. I was certainly envious of Wes' ability to open his 10.1" EeePC during conferences, disregard any fear of a low battery, and pack it away at a moments notice. The Choiix Easy Fit Netbook Sleeve wihtout a doubt contributed to the practicality, protecting his investment and adding a few pockets to store essentials. I purchased my EeePC earlier this summer with the same idea in mind, but made a grave mistake: I chose a 12" screen. A definite perk in every other aspect, but too large to fit in the Easy Fit Sleeve. I was pleasantly surprised to learn Choiix had another entry to their notebook sleeve line, one that fit up to 14" models.

Vector from over at PDXLan posted up what has to be one of the most entertaining build logs I have ever seen. I could easily see this becoming a trend with future build logs. I know I would love too see more! If you are getting ready to build or upgrade your PC, feel free to put together something creative like what Vector did. Post it up on our forums or send me an email via the Contact page and we will consider posting it up on our front page.

 

Themed cases are becoming more and more popular, helping to bring that aspect of art and individuality to users who may not have the time or the gift for case modding. In-Win has been creating these sort of unique chassi long before it was a trend, the latest of which occupying the DESTINY-Extreme series roster. We've had the pleasure of reviewing two of the cases in this line, the Maelstrom and the Dragon Slayer, and today In-Win has sent us the naval-inspired twin of the former.

Portability is perhaps the most influential idea when deciding to purchase a notebook, but rarely do we consider how true the power adapter is to that trait. Often times we find the brick-like burden taking up more collective space than the system itself. When one considers the additional weight, this necessary evil severaly limits the convenience factor. In their crusade to better the notebook users' experience, Cooler Master has set their sights on this common enemy with the USNA 95, and today we recruit the adapter to our frontlines.