Bring you the latest tech news http://www.ocia.net The BPU-340 and the BPN-DE series that we are taking a look at today are two different hard drive enclosures that allow for easy hot swapping of hard drives in and out of a chassis. These are quite simple units in design but offer functionality that few vendors out there provide. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/istarenclosures The ioSafe N2 is one of the newest ioSafe devices that build on an already popular concept: robust and resilient data storage backed by a data protection service. This model combines a fire, water and EMI proof chassis with the power of the Synology DSM allowing users to quickly connect the storage to a gigabit network and utilize it over a LAN. It also includes data recovery protection up to $5,000 out of the box. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/iosafen2 The key difference this time around, however, is the selection of MLC NAND. As the name indicates, the Vertex 3.20 uses 20nm MLC NAND compared to the larger 25nm / 34nm variants found on the original Vertex 3. It's part of a market-wide push for smaller flash across the board. That aside, everything else under the hood remains virtually the same although LSI now owns SandForce. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vertex320 Roccat has already established themselves as a solid manufacturer and designer of performance gaming peripherals and accessories. The Roccat Kone XTD is the next release in their line of performance gaming mice. This unit retails for around $90 USD and features eight fully programmable mouse buttons, a tracking sensor that scales up to 8200 DPI and a custom weight system that allows you to change the weight of the mouse in your hand in five gram increments. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/roccatxtd The item that we have for review today is one of the smallest and lightest external hard drives available, the ADATA DashDrive Elite HE720. Inside its attractive brushed steel skin lies 500GB of storage, accessible via a fast USB 3.0 powered connection. With a size and weight less than most smartphones, the DashDrive Elite easily fits in your pocket or travel bag and with only one cable to worry with, you're not going to be tied to a socket either. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/adatahe720 When the Thermaltake Level 10 case debuted at CeBIT in 2009, it garnered quite a bit of attention for its radical concept design. Now Tt aims to broaden the Level 10 product stable further by adding gaming peripherals such as headsets and mice. The Level 10 M Gaming Mouse, like previous Level 10 cases, was designed in partnership with BMW DesignworksUSA. One look tells you that this is not your average ordinary mouse. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/level10mouse Today we take a look at a new Solid State Drive offering from OCZ, the Vector Series SATA III SSD. The Vector joins the Vertex models in OCZ's High-Performance category drives, touting a 7mm low profile design, Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller and either 128GB, 256GB or 512GB capacities. Like the Vertex 4 that Shawn reviewed last year, the Vector Series touts an impressive 5-year warranty. Performance looks to be on par with the Vertex as well, with over 500MB/s claimed sequential read/write speeds (on the larger capacity models) and around 100,000 random 4k IOPS. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczvector256 OtterBox has traditionally sent over retail boxed versions of their cases for evaluation but this time around, we received a special "complementary sample" box that contained two different cases. It's worth pointing out that the actual cases are identical to what you'd buy at your local store - the only difference here is the packaging. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/otterboxforiphone5 It's been more than two years since Thermaltake launched its first Frio CPU cooler. Then they turned around and presented the Frio OCK nearly a year later. For this year Thermaltake presents not one but two new Frio based coolers for review, the Advanced and Extreme! Both coolers carry on the Frio name by utilizing dual fans on a heatpipe tower configuration. Both claim top-shelf cooling ability suitable for today's high-end processors, the question becomes then just how extreme do you need your cooling? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/frioadex It's been a year since our last Thermaltake case review, the Chaser MK-1 full tower. Those familiar with some of the features of that model may be pleased to learn that Thermaltake has incorporated many of those same options into their new Armor Revo cases. Things like the built-in fan speed and light control, top external hard drive dock, pivoting base feet and removable mesh filters are carried over directly. The chassis layout is also very similar, with the same four bay front and large 200mm front, top and side mount fans. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/armorrevosnow Thermaltake is one of the few computer accessory companies that has found success with multiple product lines. Several have tried to branch out from their core business but most ultimately fail and either resort back to what they know best or shut down shop completely. But not Thermaltake - they've found success with their line of power supplies, cases and cooling solutions over the years. Today we will be taking a look at a relatively new product line from the latter category in the Water 2.0 liquid cooling kits. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttwater20 Cooler Master recently sent out a press release announcing the availability of the ARC Macbook and iPad Stand. We saw this device briefly during our meeting with Cooler Master at CES earlier this year although it didn't make our final coverage article. Today we will be taking a closer look at the dual-purpose device aimed squarely at Apple product owners. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmarc Often built into micro-ATX or smaller chassis, HTPC aficionados demand small size and silent operation over sheer performance. Noctua aims to target the HTPC crowd with the release of their latest cooler, the NH-L12. Following in the footsteps of their C-Type NH-C14 that we reviewed here last year, the L12 offers a similar top-flow design in a slimmer, lower profile, while retaining a dual-fan configuration and incorporating their latest F-Series Focused-Flow PWM fan. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nh-l12 The Everest 2 platform comes as a result of OCZ's acquisition of Indilinx in early 2011 but it isn't the first time we have seen the Indilinx brand stamped on a Vertex drive. The company launched the original Vertex SSD as one of the pioneering flash storage solutions for mainstream users with an Indilinx controller under the hood. OCZ jumped on the SandForce bandwagon with the Vertex 2 and Vertex 3 but have come full circle back to an Indilinx solution with the Vertex 4... well, sort of. But we'll get to that in just a bit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczvertex4 Unless you've been living under a rock for the past several months, you've no doubt seen this chassis online or perhaps even at your local hardware retailer or LAN party (although I pity the person responsible for lugging this heavyweight anywhere outside of their house). Cooler Master showcased what they call the Ultra Tower at CES and it goes without saying that it was the most impressive computer case I saw during my week in Las Vegas. We've been anxious to get this chassis on the test bench to see if it lives up to the hype. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cosmosii This year Silverstone revamps their Strider Gold lineup as the Evolution series, touting a new Air Penetrator fan, improved component design and slightly better power and efficiency. They've also included a magnetic mount fan filter for those less-than-pristine operating environments. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/stridergoldevo Bitfenix is a bit of the new guy on the block, yet this is the second case we have had the opportunity to review from them in the past year. Last July we took a look at their Shinobi case and at the time I said it was a nice departure from their original Colossus chassis - which was a bit odd for my taste. They have quickly become known for not just their interesting designs, but the quality of their construction. Taking a look at the Raider which we have here today, my first impression is that it is a refinement of the previous Shinobi design. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bitfenixraider Two years ago I posted my review of the original Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler and proclaimed it the best air cooler money could buy at the time. When it came time to select a heatsink to use in our new LGA2011 test system, I immediately reached out to Noctua for our cooling needs. The timing was just right as Noctua had recently introduced the NH-D14 SE2011 for Intel's Sandy Bridge-E platform. The gang had also launched their NF-F12 PWM cooling fans and agreed to send over a few along with the cooler for evaluation in our test system. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nhd14se2011 Today we will be taking a look at a mainstream graphics solution from Zotac, a GeForce GTX 560 Ti. Sure, this isn't the most powerful card on the market but the truth of the matter is I'm not a diehard gamer like many so a more powerful card would likely go to waste. When I build a system, I want something that is extremely fast in day to day use but graphics aren't a major concern. On paper, the Zotac card appears to be a good fit for this type of build and we will find out just how much power it packs shortly when paired with an enthusiast-class system. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zotac560ti The Silverstone Precision PS07 micro-ATX chassis offers a more traditional layout than the Fortress series, although access to the interior is via the right side of the case, a-la BTX style format. The chassis features dual hidden 120mm silent fan intakes, along with an independent airflow channel for the power supply, all with easily removable filters. With a wide stance to accommodate extra room for cabling, the PS07 maintains a small footprint while allowing use of a full-size power supply and video card, not to mention up to six hard drives. It's available in two color choices, black or white. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ps07 Today we will be looking at an X79 motherboard from Gigabyte, the GA-X79-UD3. The UD3 represents Gigabyte's entry level model on the X79 platform but if processor price didn't already tip you off, LGA 2011 is an all-around expensive platform. For example, pricing on this entry-level board starts around $250 - more along the lines of what you'd expect to pay for a premium P67 board. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/x79ud3 Featuring an 802.11 wireless standard transmitter and receiver, capable of streaming up to 1080p60 video up to 150 feet, the MyWirelessTV allows you to broadcast your HD content to nearly any room in the house. Future capabilities will offer multi-cast transmission, from one transmitter to up to four receivers, and multi-source, linking multiple transmitters to one receiver. The product we've received for review today is their standard kit, which includes everything needed to get started. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mywirelesstv Today we are taking a look at a board from the latter series, the ASUS Maximus IV Extreme, a P67 B3 Revision board that throws caution to the wind by including virtually every bell and whistle one could desire. This board is specifically designed for Intel 2nd Generation Core CPU overclocking and supports Nvidia SLI and ATI CrossFire X multi-GPU configurations in addition to a treasure trove of ROG-specific features and applications. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/maximusivextreme The PC case market is one that is hard to stand out in but of course that doesn't stop manufacturers from trying. We have only reviewed one other Azza case before, the Solano 1000 way back in 2009, but we generally came away impressed with it. In reading up on their history, I discovered that at one time Azza offered mainboards in addition to their PSU line. They aren't in the mainboard market anymore but have a variety of chassis and PSU offerings such as the Fusion 3000 that we will be taking a look at here today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/azzafusion3000 Wireless is fast becoming the standard way to connect to networks. True there are still applications where traditional wired Ethernet is not only preferred, but recommended, but in typical day-to-day use wireless, is not only sufficient but often preferred based on convenience alone. Today we are going to look at few different products from ASUS, a company that is largely known for motherboards, video cards and notebooks. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asuswireless3 Gigabyte has quite a good reputation among PC hardware and gaming enthusiasts. I had the pleasure of seeing some of their solutions in their demo suite at the Venetian. Gigabyte displayed a plethora of graphics cards and motherboards, including a few motherboard engineering samples for Intel's next-generation platform due out in a few months. Samples spanned all budgets, including the GA-B75M-D3H, GA-Z77X-UD3H, GA-Z77X-UD5H, G1.Sniper 3, and G1.Sniper M3. http://www.ocia.net/articles/gigabyte2012 MSI is jumping on the Intel Thunderbolt bandwagon with a new product called GUS II. GUS II is an external graphics card enclosure designed to house a single card with a power draw no higher than 150 watts, ideally targeted at notebook gamers. The device operates over the Thunderbolt interface on one end with a PCIe X16 slot for cards inside the enclosure. http://www.ocia.net/articles/msi2012 Today we have for review Swiftech's absolute latest in blocks, the Apogee HD. Superseding the venerable Apogee XT as their flagship product, the HD offers improvements in all areas: increased performance, reduced flow restriction and a new innovative feature known as multi-port connectivity. By paralleling the outputs to other components like the VGA, RAM and VRM, flow restriction is reduced and the need for a second pump in long, daisy-chain setups is eliminated. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apogeehd We stopped by Thermaltake to visit with them at their suite in the Palazzo hotel. Here Thermaltake showed us their new Level 10 GTS mid-tower chassis. The GTS features USB 3.0, EasySwap storage bays, an HDD storage system and a nice cable management system. The chassis is constructed from steel although there wasn't a net weight listed. A 200mm LED fan comes pre-installed in the front for intake and there's a 120mm rear exhaust fan. http://www.ocia.net/articles/thermaltake2012 We stopped by OCZ's suite at Aria to check out what they had on tap for 2012. The highlight of our time with OCZ was their next-generation Everest 2 NAND flash controller platform. Set for release next June, the SATA 6Gb/s interface boasts preliminary numbers of 550MB/s read and 500MB/s write with up to 90,000 4K random write IOPS. These IOPS are a good bit higher than SandForce 2000 series controllers are capable of. http://www.ocia.net/articles/ocz2012 We visited with Cooler Master at the Bellagio after they hosted one heck of a party the night before. Cooler Master is celebrating their 20 year anniversary with a plethora of new products for 2012. The PR team first showed us their upcoming heatsink known as the TPC-812 which utilizes a new technology called Vertical Vapor Chamber. We were told that Cooler Master is one of only two companies in the world that are capable of producing this technology. http://www.ocia.net/articles/coolermaster2012 At CES 2012, NZXT launched a new full tower case they've dubbed the Switch 810. NZXT is calling this a "hybrid" tower design, suitable for extreme air cooling or complex liquid cooling setups, and offering users a choice between maximum airflow or noise reduction. With up to ten 120/140mm fans, top 360/420mm and bottom 140/240mm radiator support, pivoting internal fan mounts and removable dust filters, NZXT is definitely taking the cooling aspect of this case seriously. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/switch810 Roccat kicked off our meeting on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center by showing us their Kone+ gaming mouse. The follow-up to the original Kone includes a 6000 DPI sensor and up to 20 grams of adjustable weights. There's a 1000Hz polling rate, Teflon coated pads and support for up to 500 macro actions. http://www.ocia.net/articles/roccat2012 We headed over to the LVH (Las Vegas Hilton) for our meeting with enthusiast case manufacturer SilverStone where we stumbled upon perhaps the most interesting chassis of the week. Their new Mini-ITX FT03-Mini is nearly identical externally to the original FT03 except that it supports a smaller form factor and the optical drive is mounted vertically which looks a bit odd on the silver version. The SilverStone rep described it as the SG05 turned vertically which we can totally relate to. http://www.ocia.net/articles/silverstone2012 Kingston was celebrating their HyperX brand's 10 year anniversary at CES and to kick things off, we were shown their new HyperX Red limited edition RAM modules. The Reds are available in dual channel kits at 1333 (1.5v) or 1600 (1.65v) MHz variants and are Intel XMP ready. Kingston illustrated how the red heat spreaders complement motherboards with red accents like the Asus Rampage IV Extreme. http://www.ocia.net/articles/kingston2012 ioSafe invited us to the tennis pavilion at the Las Vegas Country Club to demonstrate their new Rugged Portable Thunderbolt drive. Playing on the Thunderbolt theme, ioSafe set up the most convincing demo I have witnessed in the four years that I have attended CES. http://www.ocia.net/articles/iosafe2012 We stopped by the Mirage to visit with Zotac, a company known for their small form factor motherboards, graphics cards and all-in-one Zboxes. Our marketing specialist Cherry first showed us Zotac's latest ITX solutions including the A75-ITX WiFi with the AMD A75 chipset and Radeon HD 6000 graphics. The H67ITX-D-E, sporting an Intel H67 chipset and GeForce GT 520 graphics, will be on sale in mid February for $149.99 while the D2700-ITU WiFi Supreme (just launched at CES) with its Intel Atom 2.13GHz dual-core processor will be available around the same time for $180. http://www.ocia.net/articles/zotac2012 NZXT has traditionally been better known for their offerings in the low to middle end market where the bulk of consumers shop for their gear, and the HALE90 is maybe just a tad out of that price range. Not surprisingly then, NZXT has released a new HALE82 line of power supplies, in 650W, 750W and 850W ratings, that come in at a 20%-30% savings over their HALE90 counterparts. The HALE82 features a similar design, with semi-modular construction, single +12V rail and 80Plus Bronze certification. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hale82650 While we've reviewed many SilverStone cases here at OCIA.net, we have yet to get a close look at any of their "extreme enthusiast" RAVEN series, other than the brief glimpses we've had at CES. SilverStone is now in their third release of the popular RAVEN tower, the RV03 which Jakob previewed at CES 2011. It was with great anticipation then when we received the RAVEN 3 for review. From our experience SilverStone has always produced high quality enclosures and the RAVEN looks to be no exception, however what really sets this series apart from other tower designs is the 90 clockwise orientation of the motherboard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ssraven3 The 240GB sample that we have features blistering performance rated at up to 1000MB/s read and 900MB/s write with 130,000 IOPS. This is 260MB/s read and 180MB/s write faster than the RevoDrive X2, a card that included four SandForce controllers to obtain such speeds. The RevoDrive 3 is able to trump those numbers with only two controllers thanks to new advances across the board. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczrevo3 After my recent review of the impressive ASUS Sabertooth P67 board, I was wondering what ASUS could have in store for us next. Intel released their Z68 chipset not too long ago and ASUS is certainly on schedule with their Z68 lineup. There is a lot to choose from with 10 different Z68 offerings from the company. Today we are going to take a look at the ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe, second in line only to the Maximus IV Extreme-Z as ASUS' top Z68 motherboard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/p8z68deluxe Late last month we took a look at OCZ's current budget power supply, the ZS series 750w power supply. This unit featured a single 12v power rail, 80 Plus Bronze certification and a hardwired construction. The PSU performed just fine in our evaluation but one thing that many people (myself included) typically look for in a modern power supply is a modular design. Today we have an upgraded version of that power power supply that falls under OCZ's High Performance category, OCZ's ZT series modular power supply. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zt650modular TUF series boards in general all have three key elements: I/O connectivity, component quality and reliability / cooling technology. ASUS uses military-grade components on TUF boards and as such, this product line features a five year warranty and goes through a different internal validation test compared to standard boards. But it's the cooling aspect, a cover over the entire board known as Thermal Armor, that I'm most excited about. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sabertoothp67 Back in 2008 NZXT released their first gaming mouse, dubbed the Avatar. Other than driver updates to accommodate newer games and provide bug fixes, NZXT has seemed content to leave it at that. You might ask then how NZXT could improve upon the Avatar's success enough to warrant a new product designation. Well you could start by replacing the 2600 DPI optical sensor with a 1600 DPI laser for better tracking on all surfaces. Then you eliminate two customizable buttons that the majority of users will probably never miss. Continue by reducing the switchable DPI selections from four down to three, throw in 16Kb of memory for storing of settings and profiles, and allow users to customize the LED lighting. Finally freshen up the aesthetics and slap an "S" model designation on it. Oh yeah, and cut the price almost in half. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/avatars Today we will be looking at OCZ's current budget power supply, the ZS series 750w PSU. We got our first glimpse of this unit way back at CES 2011 when we toured OCZ's upcoming product line for this year. The ZS series features a single 12v rail construction and a modest 80 Plus Bronze certification. OCZ sent over the 750w unit but you can also elect for less powerful 550w and 650w flavors should your hardware not require as much juice. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczzs750w That said, today I will be checking out another Z68 board in the Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5, a premium Z68 offering that retails for almost $100 more than the MSI mainboard. This time around, in addition to our standard review analysis, we will be comparing benchmarks between the two boards and against a P67 system to see the performance improvement that Intel's latest chipset brings to the table. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gigabytez68xpud5 When we reviewed the ASUS Sabertooth 990FX motherboard several weeks ago, the planned launch date for AMD's new AM3+ compatible Bulldozer chips was September 19th. Finally on October 12th the chips began popping into online inventories everywhere. Unfortunately a slew of reviews published that same day gave the FX series Zambezi chips scathing remarks. Despite lackluster performance from the new FX processors, AM3+ does still have some benefits to offer AMD users, particularly if you're still on an older AM2+ board or utilizing nVidia SLI. If a $200 motherboard isn't in your budget, the ASUS M5A99X EVO we have for review today may be just your cup of tea. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/m5a99x I've looked at a couple of video cards over the past few months, each being more powerful (and expensive) than the previous. It all started with MSI's R6850 which retailed for $177.99 at the time of our review. Next on the list was the ASUS GTX560 Ti which showed a marked improvement over the slower AMD offering, albeit at roughly $75 more expensive. Today we will bump things up to the higher-end of the spectrum as we analyze the ASUS GTX580 DirectCU II graphics card, a $500 premium GPU featuring a core clock of 782 MHz, 512 processor cores and an effective memory clock of 4008 MHz. This card is factory overclocked by 10 MHz (772 MHz reference) but ASUS also offers a higher factory overclocked version of this card at 816 MHz. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asusgtx580 A few years ago network attached storage (NAS) devices were only targeted to businesses and enthusiasts, but in the age of digitized music, photos, and movies, most people find themselves wanting a centralized way to manage all of their digital content. SilverStone has come up with the DC01 network attached storage device to fill this niche. With powerful features and simple management, SilverStone has designed a product to please both enthusiasts as well as non-tech savvy consumers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silverstonedc01nas Today we will be testing out the Gigabyte 990FXA-UD5. Based on the latest AM3+ architecture and featuring the top-end 990FX chipset and SB950 southbridge combo, this board offers a mid-grade enthusiast platform with an emphasis on robust build quality and rich feature sets. The Gigabyte 990FXA series is also available in UD3 and UD7 models, the main difference among the three being the number of supported graphics cards. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/990fxaud5 Today we will be taking a look at the ASUS GTX560 Ti DirectCU II TOP graphics card, an Nvidia-based Fermi GPU priced at roughly $250. Much like the R6850, this is an overclocked edition card that bumps the core clock up to 900 MHz and the shader clock to 1800 MHz; defaults for each are 810 MHz / 1620 MHz. Technology differences aside, it's no secret that many people shop with their wallets alone, so the aim of this comparison review is to see what sort of improvement you can from a quality $250 video card versus something a bit cheaper. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asusgtx560ti The P6X58-E Pro is ASUS' next iteration of their popular Intel X58 based motherboard. This board supports the Core i7 LGA1366 CPU (up to 6 cores) with DDR3 memory up to 48GB. 3-way SLI/Quad GPU CrossfireX is available and ASUS was kind enough to include both the 2-way and 3-way bridges. The board is currently being sold for about $250 which puts it on par with most performance X58-based motherboards from other manufacturers. As a current happy owner of the previous version of this board, the P6X58-D, I am quite excited to see what improvements ASUS has made to this already very solid performance-based platform. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/p6x58epro A few months later in May Intel launched an updated Sandy Bridge chipset called Z68 which essentially takes the best features of the P67 and H67 and combines them into one. With a Z68 board, users can overclock the CPU and use the integrated Intel HD graphics. Previously, if you wanted to overclock, you had to buy a P67 board and you had to use a discrete graphics card. If you wanted to use the integrated graphics, you needed an H67 board but then you couldn't overclock the CPU. In addition to these combined features, Z68 also introduces a new feature called Smart Response Technology (SRT) which uses a solid state drive to cache data from a traditional spinning hard drive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msiz68agd65 There are a wide array of motherboard manufacturers cranking out AM3+ boards, with chipsets ranging from the venerable 760G up through the gamut of 800 series. Of course AMD has also refreshed its chipset naming to match the new CPUs, and motherboards based on the 970, 990X and top dog 990FX are also available. It's two of these 900 series of boards that ASUS has sent over for review; the one we will be focusing on today is the Sabertooth 990FX. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/saber990fx It feels like just yesterday that the name Asus was associated with motherboards and graphics cards; a big name to enthusiasts, but not to the consumer electronics market. Now, Asus has snuck into all kinds of mainstream markets, including laptops, Android tablets, and even wireless hardware. Today, we'll be taking a look at their "Black Diamond" RT-N56U Wireless-N Router in combination with the USB-N13 Wireless-N Adapter. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asuswireless The blue highlights around the case are the most noticeable feature when it first comes out of the box. I like the headset hook on the MK-1 far more than the one that was included with the Level 10 GT. It folds up and is out of the way until it is needed. Taking a look at the side we can see the stylized window and large vent opening. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttchasermk1 Bitfenix is a relative newcomer to the market and certainly new to me. The case we are looking at today, the Bitfenix Shinobi, is actually my first hands-on experience with their products. When they introduced the Colossus chassis I was bit skeptical; the styling was just something that I questioned. However, most have seemed very happy with the build quality, so that did perk my attention. The Shinobi is a mid-tower offering that has a minimalistic style and comes with or without a side window. The sample sent to us includes the side window, viewed as an added perk by most. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/shinobiwindow Cooler Master sent over a pre-production sample of their new CM Storm Sirus 5.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset for evaluation recently. This wired headset certainly has a lot of promise, with eight speakers (four per side), a built-in microphone, optional ear padding, a powered desktop control panel and the option to plug directly into your sound card. More importantly, at least for me, is that the headset features over-the-ear cups. I find these types of headsets much more comfortable than on-the-ear cans which tend to cause me discomfort after a short while. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmstormsirus The Cubitek brand isn't one I was familiar with even though they were founded in 2002. They were initially founded as an OEM/ODM business model but in the spring of 2010 they reorganized to be able to become a branded manufacturer. That translates to them being a newer player in the market and perhaps I haven't been remiss in not noticing them until now. Their philosophy of "Build something we would want to buy at a price we would want to pay" certainly speaks to me. Today we are going to take a look at their Tattoo Pro mid-tower offering and see if it lives up to that claim. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cubitektattoopro Discrete computer graphics are one of the toughest markets to keep current with. New graphics cores are released on a pretty frequent basis from both ATI and NVIDIA and with naming schemes that change nearly as often, it can be difficult to determine where each card stands in relation to others in the same price range. Today we will be taking a look at the MSI R6850 PE / OC graphics card, a mid-range GPU that was launched at the end of last year. Codenamed Barts, this GPU is built on a 40nm process with support for DirectX 11 & Open GL 4.0. Other notable features include HDMI 1.4a & DisplayPort 1.2 support as well as AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology and CrossfireX support. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msir6850 NZXT introduces the newest design in their Classic series, the H2 Silent mid-tower. Building upon the success of their previous Hush mid-tower and Whisper full-tower chassis, the H2 incorporates the latest case upgrades and technological advances into a compact mid-tower frame, utilizing quieting features and a classic styling that practically screams NZXT. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxth2 Unless you are running multiple video cards and a beefy processor, you won't have any use for a monster 1KW+ PSU. Even relatively powerful hardware doesn't come close to using the kind of power that super high-end units provide. Today we will be taking a look at a "mainstream" power supply from FSP Group, the Aurum Gold 500. The Aurum is a 500 watt non-modular power supply that features 80+ Gold certification and dual 12v rails. The 500w model is one of four in the Aurum series; other models include a 400w variety and beefier 600w and 700w units. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/aurum500 The SSD technology of today is worlds better than what we had in 2009. Better understanding of the technology, mature controllers, Windows 7, SATA 6Gb/sec and even the PCI-e bus have all advanced things to a point where SSDs are coming close to mainstream adoption. Pricing is also much more attractive as well as evident by the drive we are looking at today, OCZ's Agility 3 240GB unit. The Agility 3 is one of three new SATA 6Gb/sec SSDs and is classified as a high-performance drive alongside the higher-end Vertex 3. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczagility3 I have gotten to know Sentey through their case division over the past few months. In that time I have looked at the Optimus and the Arvina mid-tower offerings. Today we have their 80 Plus Gold 850 watt power supply on hand for evaluation. This will be the first power supply I have looked at from them, so it will be interesting to see how they handle something besides a case. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/GSP850-SM Corsair has since released two follow-up cases in the Obsidian line, the 700D and the 650D. The 700D is essentially identical to the 800D, but removes the hot-swap drive bays and windowed side panel. The 650D, on the other hand, is a mid-tower offering that heavily resembles the 800D in fit and function. There are some changes that had to be made given the smaller footprint, but it's largely a shrunken 800D. Today we will be going over the smaller 650D to see if it truly lives up to the stellar reputation the 800D holds. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/obsidian650d As a hardware enthusiast, trade shows like CES and Computex showcase many new products that you can expect to see on the market either immediately or sometime after the show. As a hardware reviewer, these shows are even more insightful as it gives a pretty solid road map of what we will be working with over the next six months or so. We have already looked at products from OCZ, Cooler Master and SilverStone that we previewed at the show, just to name a few. Today that trend continues as we have Thermaltake's Toughpower Grand series power supply on the hotbed. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttgrand1050 The MUKii TransImp X3 Plus is one of many new USB 3.0 hard drive enclosures coming to the market. The TransImp X3 Plus is no ordinary enclosure and MUKii has designed the unit with a few bells and whistles that separate it from other enclosures on the market. Some of those features include a front lit LCD display that shows real time I/O rates, an attractive black aluminum case and a small but effective set of software tools. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mukiitransimp The Thermaltake Level 10 GT is yet another case that I had the opportunity to preview at CES 2011. The Level 10 GT is a follow-up to the original Level 10 that garnered a ton of press from CES 2010. The goal with this new version is to bring the style of the original Level 10 case to a much more reasonable price point. The original had an asking price around $800 - more than some users spend on an entire system! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttlevel10gt Today we are going to take a look at another case that was introduced at CES 2011. The Cooler Master Elite 371 was on display at Cooler Master's suite at the Bellagio, so we had a chance to preview this one a few months back. My impression at the time was that it looked like a solid budget case but now we will get to put it through the paces for a full evaluation. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmelite371 It has been quite a while since Swiftech last offered a new air-cooled heatsink. Looking back through old reviews it appears the last one may have been the MCX6400-V, circa 2004. Certainly at that time Swiftech's coolers were well regarded, and they were the only ones to utilize anything like their patented Helicoid cooling pin design for base to fin heat transfer. However in more recent years Swiftech has concentrated exclusively on liquid cooling products. You can imagine my surprise then when I received the notice that I would be reviewing a new air-cooled heatsink from Swiftech, the Polaris 120. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/swifpolar I mulled over multiple options for nearly a week before deciding that I wanted to install a PC in place of the current setup. A computer would allow me to add all of my MP3s as well as replace the unsightly TV / VCR combo. The PC would open up nearly all types of digital video formats as well which would certainly come in handy for passengers during a road trip. http://www.ocia.net/articles/vanpc We've looked at more computer cases than any other component or accessory over the past 10 years here at OCIA.net. While styling and trends have certainly changed over the past decade, the general hardware layout inside a case has remained constant: motherboard in the middle, power supply either on the top or bottom, optical drives up front at the top and hard drives in the lower front area. There have been advances in certain departments like hot swap drive and aesthetics (lighting, funky paint jobs, etc) but the basic ATX layout hasn't changed much since the beige box. That's all about to change as SilverStone has taken the classic ATX layout and dropped it in a blender. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silverstoneft03 The CM Storm Enforcer is the latest case in the Cooler Master "Storm" series of products and the second one we will be reviewing (the first was the CM Storm Sniper back in early 2009). Our first glimpse of this case was in the Cooler Master suite at CES 2011. Unlike the "ultra mid tower" Storm Sniper, this is a mid-tower offering aimed at budget gamers and enthusiasts. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmstormenforcer The majority of users that select an H67-equipped board do so to take advantage of Intel HD graphics built into Sandy Bridge processors and thus, won't be using a high-end graphics card or really any other add-in cards. Builds where a Micro ATX board would be suitable include home theater PCs and small form factor builds where a small footprint is needed. A quick check at Newegg revealed only three full size ATX H67 boards, one of them being the board we are taking a look at today, the Gigabyte GA-H67A-UD3H. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/h67aud3h We have looked at over half a dozen OtterBox mobile phone cases here at OCIA.net, dating all the way back to 2006 with the OtterBox 1920 Palm Treo Case. Although product lines and phones have changed over the years, the one constant with OtterBox has been their uni-body design and multiple layers of protection. That is all about to change with the newest creation from OtterBox, the Reflex Series Case. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/otterboxreflex If you are in the market for a small form factor chassis that can support a serious high-end graphics card, your options are pretty limited. The SilverStone SG05-450 SFF that I recently reviewed was a fantastic chassis but the proprietary 450 watt power supply wouldn't be a wise choice with a top-of-the-line GPU. Additionally, the Mini ITX limitation would likely turn away most serious gamers. Today we will be taking a look at Thermaltake's Armor A30, a small form factor gaming chassis that allows for a full-size power supply, Micro ATX boards and a graphics card up to 13" in length. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/armora30 We have another offering from Sentey and their "Extreme Division" line of cases today. This time we are going to take a look at their GS-6000 Optimus mid-tower case. Previously we looked at the Arvina GS-6400 which came away with top honors. With the Optimus, Sentey looks to be going for a budget version of the Arvina in the mid-tower size. The Optimus comes in two varieties, the GS-6000 which is all black and the GS-6000R with red highlights; we have the former on hand today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/senteyoptimusgs6000 After being in development since 2006, AMD was finally able to debut their Fusion APU at the 2011 CES. If you haven't been keeping up with processing technology as of late, APU stands for Accelerated Processing Unit and is AMD's CPU + GPU combo chip. Today we are going to be taking a look at a motherboard / APU combo from Gigabyte, the GA-E350N-USB3. The E350N utilizes the Brazos platform and more specifically, the Zacate APU which features a dual-core Bobcat CPU operating at 1.6 GHz and AMD Radeon HD 6310 graphics. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gigabytee350nusb3 Not everyone wants to build their own HTPC, and despite the relative small size of most HTPC cases compared to a full tower for example, they're still fairly large next to most other electronic devices in a home theater environment. The Zotac Zbox on the other hand, is a fully functional HTPC in a very slim size; about the same as the average netbook. Offering a choice of barebone or pre-configured hardware, the model we have for review today includes the Intel Atom D525 dual-core CPU, nVidia ION2 graphics, 250Gb hard drive, 2Gb of memory and a slot-loading Blu-Ray drive. Add to that Gigabit wired and 802.11n wireless networking, 6-in-1 card reader, HDMI, USB3 and eSATA, and you've got a huge amount of functionality packed into one tiny device. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zbox We had the opportunity to review the Mophie Juice Pack Air for the iPhone 3GS back in 2009. The model we will be looking at today is the Juice Pack Plus, but they also offer a slightly cheaper Air version. The difference being the Plus model has a 2000 mAh battery capacity vs. the 1500 mAh of the Juice Pack Air. The Juice Pack Air for the iPhone 3GS sported a 1200 mAh battery capacity. This additional capacity does increase the overall size slightly, though it seems to be fairly minimal. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mophiejuicepackplus We first saw this cooler on display at CES 2011 in the suit that Thermaltake was set up in. The Frio OCK is the refreshed version of Thermaltake's top Frio cooler. With OCK standing for "Over Clocker King," it wasn't hard to determine the target market here. We are actually a little surprised to see it released as our rep said it might not make it to market due to a cost prohibitive construction. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/Thermaltakefrioock Intel's Sandy Bridge platform got off to a strong start at the 2011 CES earlier this year before an issue with the P67 chipset sidelined motherboard production for several weeks. The chipset design error wasn't catastrophic by any means and likely wouldn't cause any issues for years to come, but it certainly needed to be corrected regardless. Board manufacturers worked with Intel to replace "bad" boards with those featuring the revised B3 chipset and business is pretty much back to normal at this point. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msip67agd80 As the line between home theater A/V and personal computing continues to blur, home theater style computer cases are becoming more and more popular with consumers. SilverStone Technologies launched a successful line of home theater cases back in 2009 with the Grandia series (GD04 and GD05) and this review is going to cover the new and improved model, the Grandia GDO6. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silverstonegd06 Last month we reviewed the Crucial Ballistix Tracer Black just to recap some of the price drops we've seen on memory lately and what is available out there in the DDR3 realm. In the introduction to that piece we discussed how Crucial had unveiled a new variety of their Tracer memory at the 2011 CES and that we hoped to have a sample of this product available soon. Today I am happy to present the Ballistix Smart Tracer for review. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tracersmart Thermaltake is known for a variety of products -- everything from cases to CPU coolers. Today we are going to take a look at one of their new CPU coolers - the Thermaltake Jing. The "Silent by Design" tag line indicates this will likely be a quiet cooler. CPU coolers have a tendency to be either very quiet or very efficient, but hitting both can be a challenge. The Jing was noticeably absent from Thermaltake's CES lineup earlier this year so this will be our first look at this new cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/thermaltakejing As aftermarket CPU coolers continue a trend of "bigger is badder", manufacturers must constantly tweak their designs to ensure compatibility across multiple platforms. Perhaps no one knows this better than Austrian company Noctua. Within the last year we've reviewed three coolers from them, the NH-D14, the C12P SE14 and the U9B SE2, and two of those feature their signature NF-P14 140mm fan. If you thought finding room to put one 140mm fan on a CPU cooler wasn't challenging enough, today we take a look at Noctua's latest creation, the NH-C14, and see how they manage to squeeze two of them on there. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nh-c14 A little over a year ago Zahn put the Corsair Hydro H50 Liquid CPU Cooler through the paces and awarded it our Silver Seal of Approval based on its performance, price and installation procedure. Corsair has since followed up on the original design with the release of the H70 which we will be taking a look at here today. The H70 features a lower profile water block / pump assembly, a thicker radiator and dual cooling fans, among other changes. These improvements sound great in theory but will they translate to real-world performance? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/corsairh70 Today we are taking a look at the Max 5G from Thermaltake. The Max 5G is taking a different approach to the external drive enclosures. Where most others seem to aim at making the enclosure as compact as possible, the Max 5G is adding additional cooling in for good measure. This should have an impact on long-term drive health if warm hard drives concern you. The Max 5G comes with dual 80mm fans and blue LED highlights in addition to its USB 3.0 connectivity. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/thermaltakemax5g Like many other manufacturers at CES 2011, OCZ had a collection of their most recent hardware on display, including solid state drives, memory and power supplies. It's one of the latter that we have for review today, the ZX Series 850W. The ZX replaces the Z Series as OCZ's Maximum Performance line of power supplies, and is available in 850W, 1000W and 1250W capacities. These models all feature 80Plus Gold efficiency levels, multi-GPU support and OCZ's exclusive five year PowerSwap Warranty. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczzx850 What we didn't know at the time (although assumed all along) was that OCZ was also working on consumer level Vertex 3 drives based on a brand new SandForce controller, the SF-2281. The next-generation SandForce controller in OCZ's Vertex 3 consumer grade drive operates across the SATA 6 Gbps interface and is reportedly good for up to 550MB/s read, 525MB/s write at up to 60K IOPS 4k Write. Today we will be taking a look at a beta engineering sample of the new consumer grade Vertex 3 SSD in a 240GB capacity. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vertex3preview What always surprises me about computer memory, is that for months it can hover around the same price range, and then seemingly overnight the bottom will drop out. About this time last year I was reviewing some Ballistix Tracer Red in a 4Gb dual channel kit, and now they have that same pair listed for half the cost, even less at some online retailers. As far as I can determine, prices fell through the floor sometime between the holidays and prior to CES 2011 last month. For those users still on DDR2 who have been holding off on a memory upgrade, waiting for prices to come down, now may be the perfect opportunity to do so. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tracer12800 When Jakob visited SilverStone at CES 2011 earlier this month, they had on display their latest series of Strider Gold power supplies, and we are happy to have for review today the 750W model. The 750W Strider Gold has many of the same specifications as the 750W Strider Plus (Silver) such as a 750W continuous rating at 40C, all modular cables, single +12V rail, 19dBA 135mm variable speed fan, 2200uF capacitors on the PCI-E cables and all the same protection features. How the 750W Strider Gold differs from the 750W Strider Plus, aside from the name, is primarily in its greater efficiency. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ssst75f-g As one of the millions of happy iPad owners, I'm always on the lookout for new and exciting accessories to pair with my tablet. We have looked at several iPad cases from a variety of manufacturers that offer both style and protection. Today we will be looking at an accessory with a different purpose, the Mivizu A90 iPad Case. The term "case" might be a bit misleading as I would consider this more of a stand than a case, but I digress. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mivizua90 The RevoDrive X2 is essentially an original RevoDrive with a daughter card piggybacked on top. This daughter card adds two additional SandForce controllers and room for more memory chips, bringing the total controller count to four. A RAID0 configuration manages the four controllers and memory chips, resulting in what OCZ proclaims is a blazing fast PCIe SSD solution. We were pretty impressed with the original RevoDrive and can only wonder if the follow-up product is equally as impressive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/revodrivex2 Roccat is a German based company that was founded in 2007. They are a relatively new company to the gaming peripheral scene but offer several feature rich, sleek looking gaming mice and keyboards among a few other gaming related devices. Roccat's main selling points on their mice are the extreme DPI resolutions they achieve, upwards of 3200 DPI. Roccat is probably most known for the feature packed Kone series of gaming mice which has been met with positive reviews across the net. Today we will be taking a look at the Roccat Kone and Kova, representing both the higher end and lower end gaming markets. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/roccatkovakone With nVidia's launch of the GTX 570/580 series video cards last November, prices on the 400 models have slowly begun to decline. As Shawn noted in our recent Zotac GTX 480 review, retailers simply can't continue to sell previous generation cards at the same price as the new ones, and most manufacturers are offering rebates and other incentives to move out existing stock. At the same time nVidia quietly added the GTX 460 SE to its lineup, a cheaper version of the original 460, at the expense of some of its performance. With the January release of the GTX 560 Ti, we're seeing even deeper cuts on the 400 series cards, such as this nVidia GeForce GTX 460 from Computer Geeks. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gtx460 Today we have for review the latest CM Storm weapon of choice, the Spawn gaming mouse. Unlike its predecessors the Sentinel and Inferno, which utilized a more traditional elongated shape, the Spawn offers a wider and rounder claw-like grip. Featuring a high performance 3500 DPI optical sensor with "DPI on-the-fly" buttons, ultra precise step scroll wheel, Omron micro switches for guaranteed five million clicks and 32Kb of onboard memory to store your settings, this is one mouse set to "spawn" your gaming to a new level. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmspawn We recently took a look at a case from Galaxis called the Atlus. The Atlus was the first case we have worked with from Galaxis and we were left wanting a bit more from the maiden offering. Today we are taking a look at an additional offering from Galaxis called the Ares. According to the box, the case is available in two color schemes: Black / Blue and Black / Red. Galaxis sent their blue variation, but it is nice to see more than just the typical blue being offered. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/galaxisares PC Power & Cooling has always been known for their high quality power supplies, but there have been a small number of changes since OCZ acquired them in 2007. Now PCP&C seems to be getting back to basics with the new Silencer models. Gone is the large 135mm overhead fan and back is the 80mm rear mounted format they used in the pre-OCZ years. Of course there are no modular cables here, everything is hard wired as they have always done. And just like most of the Silencer MkII line, the Silencer 760 boasts an 80Plus Silver certification. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ppcs760 In the short time since Intel released Sandy Bridge earlier this month, we have seen multiple new boards supporting all-new features from several different manufacturers. ASUS were among the first to launch with Intel, offering several different P67 / H67 motherboards to cover every segment of the market. Today we will be taking a look at the P8P67 EVO, one of nine new P67 Express motherboards from the Taiwan industry giant. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/p8p67evo Zalman hadn't originally been on my schedule at CES so I didn't think I would have an opportunity to visit with them. Fortunately it turned out they were just down the hall at the Mirage where I was meeting with Zotac. Zotac was kind enough to point me in the right direction where I was able to fit in a meeting with Zalman as well. http://www.ocia.net/articles/zalmances2011 During CES 2011 earlier this month, I had the chance to not only stop by the Zotac booth on the show floor but also meet with them in their hotel suite at the Mirage. Zotac is a relative newcomer having been founded in 2006, but has already managed to establish itself in the graphics and small form-factor mainboard market. http://www.ocia.net/articles/zotacces2011 Mivizu offers two different versions of this croc folio. The one we have here today is the "imitation" croc skin which consists of real leather in a crocodile skin pattern. If you are the type that likes to eat diamonds on your fish, however, Mivizu also sells a real crocodile skin folio (identical to the imitation case in form, just with real skin) for a cool $7,000. No, that isn't a typo. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mivizucroc Another area they have delved into is power supplies, offering a multitude of units ranging from 360w all the way up to 1,000w monsters. Today we will be taking a look at one of their newer power supplies, the ZM850-HP Plus, a modular power system that features a large 140mm cooling fan, heatpipe-cooled internals and an 80-Plus Silver certification. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zm850hpplus As memory standards have changed over the years one thing has remained constant: the confusion that arises when trying to compare different memory speeds and timings. It's been drilled into our heads again and again that faster speed is good, but so are lower timings, and unfortunately those two ends seem to move in opposite directions. The higher the memory goes in frequency, the greater number of cycles spent waiting before reading from or writing to it. Invariably the question always arises, which is better for my system? http://www.ocia.net/articles/memlatency SilverStone has been around since 2003 when it is rumored that designers from Cooler Master's high-end ATCS division left the company and started their own firm. In the eight years since the alleged split, SilverStone has made quite a name for themselves by producing some exquisite products. What they showed off at CES 2011 was right in line with what we expect from them. http://www.ocia.net/articles/silverstoneces2011 The Cooler Master party was my first event at this year's CES. I got into town a bit late on Friday afternoon, picked up my badge holder and headed straight to the Bellagio where Cooler Master was hosting their party. The Cooler Master party is one of many held each evening during CES week. Company parties are a great opportunity to relax after a long day of covering the show and network with fellow media and company representatives. http://www.ocia.net/articles/coolermasterces2011 Today we will be taking a look at one of Zotac's flagship graphics card from their GeForce 400 series line, the Amp! Edition GeForce GTX 480. Originally launched in March of 2010 and available a month later for purchase, the GeForce 400 series was the first to introduce the Fermi architecture and support for OpenGL 4.0 and Direct3D 11. Although ousted as the NVIDIA GPU king by the GeForce 500 series late last year, higher end 400 series cards like the GTX 480 remain very relevant in today's GPU market. Zotac sweetens their take on the GTX 480 by throwing in an aftermarket heatsink to combat Fermi's known heat issues and a factory overclock for good measure. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zotac480amp Thermaltake was once again at CES in full force. Touring their suite at the Palazzo Hotel, I was presented with a variety of products covering multiple different markets. Thermaltake is a well known brand that I am quite familiar with. My first "enthusiast" case years ago was a Thermaltake, so I tend to keep an eye out for their products just to see what they come up with over time. http://www.ocia.net/articles/thermaltakeces2011 While at CES 2011 I had a chance to spend some time with OCZ Technology and view their upcoming product line for the new year. OCZ is focusing on three core target markets: enterprise, performance, and mainstream. Inside of these markets they offer three main product lines: Storage products, Power Supplies, and Memory products (although they announced their exit from the memory industry just days after CES). While discussing these segments with OCZ, it was stated that their core focus is storage and trying to push the innovation envelope. They pride themselves at thinking outside of the box and attempting to bring something new to the consumer at a reasonable price. http://www.ocia.net/articles/oczces2011 If you frequently attend LAN gaming events, share common living space or otherwise have reason to leave your computer in a public area, one thing you're likely concerned with is theft. The likelihood that someone could walk off unnoticed with your case under their arm may be slim, however peripherals such as keyboards and mice are much more susceptible. NZXT has come up with a solution to this problem with their Bunker USB Locking Device. Compatible with any case that has a free 5" external drive bay, the Bunker offers four USB 2.0 ports that can be locked down to prevent the devices from being unplugged. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtbunker I picked up an iPad a few months ago and have had the opportunity to check out a few iPad cases. The options I have looked at thus far focus on protecting your iPad rather than offering any additional usability features. Today we will be looking at the LapWorks Crystal iPad Folio which was announced just today. The Crystal Folio is a multi-purpose case that offers functionality in addition to a clear protective shell that allows the natural good looks of the iPad to show through. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/crystalipad The Atlus case by Galaxis is a mid-tower offering supporting standard ATX mainboards, four external 5.25" drive bays and one external 3.5" bay. It has a large side intake fan, blue LED lighting and a top control panel. We have seen a variety of mid-tower offerings lately and the feature set from the outside looks typical, though with the USB and audio ports on the top I would expect more of a floor placement. Follow along as we take a closer look. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/galaxisatlus With all the excitement surrounding CES 2011 and new releases such as Intel's second generation Core chips like the i5-2500K that Shawn just reviewed, it can be easy to overlook updated revisions of existing products. Towards the end of November, OCZ announced revamped editions of their popular Blade, Platinum and Gold series memory. However between the holidays and upcoming CES this news may have slipped under the radar. Plus it's only been more recently that these versions have even started to show up at online retailers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczplat2000 The P67A-GD65 is one of nine new MSI boards supporting Sandy Bridge. Breaking it down further, the GD65 is the flagship board in the "performance" segment alongside the GD55, both of which are ATX form factor. The Performance segment is bested only by the gaming class which features the P67A-GD80 and the insanely ridiculous Big Bang Marshall that features a whopping eight PCIe x16 slots! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/p67agd65 For many computer enthusiasts, dedicating a machine just for HTPC isn't a big deal but not everyone wants to spend extra money or hassle setting up a purpose-built computer. This is where media players come in. The Patriot PBO Box Office is a multimedia playback device that interfaces between your television and any digital media you may have stored, such as on an external USB drive or networked computer. It supports full HD video up to 1080p, Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound, UPnP streaming, IMS and custom RMS feeds and a whole slew of popular video, picture and music file types. In other words, there's not much that the PBO can't play. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/patriotpbo A keyboard is a keyboard right? Thermaltake is betting against that school of thought with their Challenger Pro keyboard. Being of the eSports series, this keyboard was designed with gamers in mind with specific functions tailored to their needs. It is the big brother of the standard Challenger keyboard with additional features. While you can play games on most any keyboard, Thermaltake has stepped this keyboard up and has included some expanded functions that most other keyboards cannot offer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/challengerpro One year later we find ourselves in a similar situation. CES is upon us and once again, Intel has launched another exciting line of processors for 2011. Codenamed Sandy Bridge, the 2nd Generation Intel Core Processor Family represents the "Tock" in Intel's "Tick-Tock" development model. Although Sandy Bridge is built on the 32nm process like Westmere, it features an all-new micro-architecture with improvements across the board. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/i52500k Motherboards supporting the new LGA 1155 Socket are starting to appear online such as the ECS P67H2-A2 we have on hand today. Although we can't share any performance numbers just yet, we can take a detailed look at the P67H2-A2's features and layout, one of four new Black Series boards that ECS will be launching based on the P67 chipset. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ecsp67h2a2pre Blu-ray Disk or BD has been around for nearly a decade, but it has really taken off in popularity the last few years. With the explosion in sales of progressively lower-priced LCD and Plasma HDTVs, and the end of the format war with HD DVD, Blu-ray has firmly established itself as the new standard for high definition video. While initially very expensive, just as DVD-R and CD-R were in their infancy, BD-R drives have recently hit the sub-$100 level, and blanks can be had for about a buck a piece when purchased in bulk. The LG WH08LS20 combo drive from Geeks.com fits this category, and is the subject of our review today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lgbluray What a lot of people don't realize, however, is that if you can get by with just a single PCIe x16 expansion slot, a Mini-ITX system can pack one heck of a punch given the right motherboard and supporting hardware. Today we are going to be taking a look at Gigabyte's GA-H55N-USB3 Mini-ITX motherboard which supports Intel's 2010 Core Processor Family based on Socket 1156. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/h55nusb3 Of course, a full tower system isn't always desired for a number of reasons. Perhaps you are working in a limited space, need a system that is lightweight / portable or you simply don't need many expansion options. If you fall into this latter category, there are desktop options available that fit the bill. Today we are looking at one such option, the SilverStone SG05-450 Small Form Factor Chassis. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sg05450 OCZ's latest series of performance SSDs, the Vertex 2 and Agility 2, both make use of the SandForce 1200 controller, and have proven themselves to be very fast performers in our reviews. Despite more and more mainstream users adopting SSDs for their desktop systems, the majority of drives continue to be manufactured in the 2.5" notebook format. When it comes to flash memory drives, space is less of an issue and the 2.5" size is more versatile. As OCZ points out however, a 3.5" drive has a lower cost per gigabyte and is more easily integrated into desktop and server applications without the need for adapters. They now offer both their Vertex 2 and Agility 2 drives in a 3.5" format, and it is the former that we will be reviewing today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczv2ssd A few months ago we posted an article titled, "Building a Silent HTPC". The article featured a collaboration of manufacturers and online shops, each showcasing a product or two as part of a full system build. Based on the overwhelming success of that article, we have decided to do another full build; this time, we are putting together a performance / gaming PC. Based on Intel's Core i7 CPU, we will construct a system that both performance enthusiasts and gamers alike would be proud to call their own. http://www.ocia.net/articles/gamingpc1 Normally at this point we would take a look at the included software bundle, but there is no software for the M571 - it's truly plug and play. This is nice in that you don't have to spend time configuring the software and setting up a ton of macro buttons, but also a bit restrictive in that you can't fine-tune the mouse to your exact liking. For example, you are stuck with the preset DPI settings and button mapping that Arctic Cooling has selected for you. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/Arcticm571 IoSafe has targeted those home and small business users who need a sizable amount of backup space, and can't afford to lose their data to disasters such as fire or flood. Last year Shawn torture-tested their Solo 500GB USB 2.0 product which passed with flying colors. The only complaint he had was the relatively slow USB 2.0 access speeds. For this year IoSafe releases their SoloPRO version offering the same robust fire and flood protection, with higher capacities and new USB 3.0 interface. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/iosafesp1tb The latest addition to my mobile tech arsenal is an Apple iPad that I recently won in a Facebook photo contest. Starting at $500 for the entry level model, the iPad certainly warrants some sort of protection against the elements / clumsy hands. Even before my new gadget arrived, I was already considering protection options. A few names instantly popped into mind, one being OtterBox. We have covered several of their mobile phone cases, spanning the likes of Apple, HTC, Blackberry and Palm, but never before have we looked at anything that couldn't fit inside your pocket. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/otterboxipad As of writing, Socket 1366 is still Intel's top performer, and with support for triple channel memory and Gulftown, that won't change with early Sandy Bridge offerings. After all, Sandy Bridge is a mainstream release that isn't aimed at high-end enthusiasts. That said, if you want the fastest system currently available and you want it right now, Socket 1366 is where it's at. Based on Intel's X58 chipset, Socket 1366 was released in late 2008 and has seen continued support from both Intel and board manufacturers ever since. Today we will be taking a look at an X58 board from ASUS, the P6X58D-E. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/p6x58de Not too long ago, I took a look at the Noctua NH-U9B SE2. Today I am going to compare that to the Arctic Freezer 13 from Arctic Cooling. Arctic has long been known for their cooling products, but has also branched out into peripherals as of late. Taking a look at one of their core products, the Freezer 13, should make for a nice comparison against the recently reviewed Noctua heatsink. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/arcticfreezer13 Many people have a home theater system for watching movies in surround sound. HTPC owners aside, few by comparison have a similar setup for their computer however. The basic 2-channel or 2.1-channel remain the most common speaker systems for home computers. Psyko Audio Labs introduces a 5.1 surround sound headset, in what they have coined as "the dawn of audio as a weapon" to improve positional awareness and reaction time for improved game play. Rather than placing multiple speakers in the ear cups they are located above your head, and use WaveGuides to direct the sound around each ear. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/psyko51 Now that we are well into the lifespan of DDR3, the focus for many enthusiasts has turned to speed and capacity. With 64-bit operating systems now a viable option, it makes sense for end users to have over 4GB of system memory. Those who do video editing or extensive Photoshop work know how important it is to have a substantial amount of system memory on tap. For those that want the best of both worlds (fast and high capacity), we present today's review product, the OCZ Flex EX DDR3 12GB Triple Channel Memory kit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/flex17000 Love them or hate them, headphones / earphones are generally needed at some point. Depending on your living arrangements, it is quite possible you wear them a lot. If I am not gaming, I let the sound pass through my normal system. However, once I start gaming I throw on my old earphones so I don't disturb others around me. My gaming earphones have always been my old cheap Logitechs that pass over the ears and have a microphone. I have a separate set that I use for travel and music, which are the Bose QC2's. Arctic Cooling sent over their premium gaming headset for evaluation, the Arctic Sound P531. This headset is USB driven, has 5.1 channel surround and a sub-woofer built in. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/arcticp531 For the majority of users, a mouse is just a mouse. As long as it moves the pointer on the computer screen where they want it to go, it doesn't matter what shape, color or feel it has. Then there are others who patently refuse to use the standard stuff that comes with the computer. Mionix is a company based in Sweden that makes gaming mice, mouse accessories and audio gear that are "light years ahead of the game". The Mionix Naos has an LED optical sensor adjustable up to 3200dpi, programmable buttons, customizable LED lighting and built-in memory for storing your settings. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/naos3200 The idea of storage over an expansion slot isn't new, as RAM-based hard drives have been around for several years, although popularity has been virtually non-existent and prices were astronomical. OCZ has rejuvenated this idea recently with the release of their Z-Drives and RevoDrive PCI-Express solid state drives. Today we will be taking a look at the latter to see if it's a better option than a traditional 2.5" SSD for desktop environments. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/revodrive We have tested several new 800-series AMD motherboards this year which were fairly high-end. Obviously however not everyone has or wants to spend $100+ on a motherboard, or is just looking for something basic that supports the latest AM3 processors but without all the other bells and whistles. Today we have an inexpensive 880G chipset board to review, the Biostar A880G+ from Computer Geeks. Featuring a new color scheme and offering nearly the same amount of features as their T-Series equivalent, Biostar's latest standard class offering brings AMD performance to the masses. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bio880g The Cooler Master Storm Strike Force SF-19 appears no different in basic design from most other notebook coolers. It features a generally wedge-shaped base with some venting and fans housed inside, some rubber non-slip feet and a smattering of controls on either side. The Storm series of products is geared towards gamers and the SF-19 claims compatibility with up to 19" laptops. Additionally it supports USB 3.0 and offers some variable lighting effects. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmsf19 OtterBox is one of the handful of case providers that isn't just in it for your money and the average consumer seems to be catching on to this fact. They have been making phone and other protective cases since before it was cool. Each time a highly anticipated phone is released, the OtterBox FaceBook page gets hammered with posts asking when a case will be available. Unfortunately, OtterBox is not always able to have cases available on the release date for every new mobile phone that comes out. Such was the case with Sprint's flagship HTC Evo 4G. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/otterboxevo NZXT is primarily a case manufacturer, although they have released some power supplies in the past, namely their Performance Power and Precise series. Here at OCIA.net we've looked a few of these models over the years and found them to be very stable and of decent quality, particularly considering their relatively low price. However even as recently as just two years ago, they failed to meet basic 80Plus standards, topping out around 78% efficiency. Now NZXT looks to change all that by releasing a new line of power supplies, the HALE90 Gold series. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hale750 The iPhone has been a mega hit for Apple and has brought them back to relevance in the eyes of millions. Since its June 2007 launch date, Apple has been hard at work to put an iPhone in the hands of consumers worldwide and earning a nice chunk of the market share in the process. The obvious winners here are Apple and AT&T, but the overwhelming success of the iPhone also means big business for aftermarket case manufacturers. Names like OtterBox and Griffin are among the pack leaders but there are hundreds of other less known manufacturers bringing their products to market. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sgpcase Video card operating temperatures continue to be some of the hottest of any component in the computer. It's not uncommon for core GPU temps to reach 70C, 80C sometimes even 90C under load, well beyond what's considered safe for most desktop CPU processors. Unfortunately in many instances the factory style coolers sacrifice noise and efficiency in order to conform to fixed size requirements, a necessary consideration for some case dimensions and particularly in multi-card configurations. Fortunately there are a host of aftermarket cooler manufacturers available who offer products that surpass the stock heatsink capabilities. The Zalman cooler we have for review today is one of their latest graphics card designs, the VF3000. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vf3000a The HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) has become much more mainstream over the past several years. Once only a component of true hardware / media enthusiasts, the HTPC is finding its way into the homes of millions of average consumers thanks to the emergence of online video providers like Hulu, Netflix and iTunes. Additionally, many cable television networks stream episodes of their hit shows on their websites and as we all know, torrent sites are still very relevant. Throw in Blu-ray capability and you have a complete all-in-one media center. http://www.ocia.net/articles/silenthtpc Today we are looking at two USB 3.0 devices from Mukii. One is a SATA/IDE to USB 3.0 adapter and the other is a hard drive dock with USB 3.0 interface. Mukii is a manufacturer I haven't heard of before, but they have a variety of products listed on their website. They literally offer everything from drive dock adapters to external drive enclosures and all things between. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mukiusb30 The introduction from NZXT is what first caught my eye on this. The Sentry LXE is different from the prior models that we have reviewed due to it being a stand-alone controller. The LXE features a controller card that takes up a rear expansion slot, a cable that is run to the controller, and the controller itself. The previous models had it taking up a 5.25" expansion bay. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtsentrylxe At the 2008 CES, Thermaltake introduced a novel idea in the category of external storage, the hard drive dock. The BlacX dock supported either 2" or 3" SATA drives via a hot-swap, plug-in interface and featured USB 2.0 connectivity. It was an instant success. Although many other manufacturers would soon develop their own versions of the external drive dock, Thermaltake continued to refine their original design with subsequent models that added support for a 4-port USB hub, dual drives and finally eSATA. The item we have for review today represents the latest in the evolution of Thermaltake's drive dock, the BlacX 5G. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttblacx5g Gateway released a few updates to their FX desktop line earlier this year. The FX represents Gateway's high end gaming division and comes in a variety of configurations with base prices ranging from the sub-$1,000 mark all the way up to $3,000 (although the high end system is last year's model and should be discontinued at this point based on its aging hardware). Manufactured PCs aren't for everyone, but the truth of the matter is that not everyone has the time, patience or know-how to build their own computer. Today we will be taking a look at the entry model FX from Gateway, the 6840-01e. With an MSRP of $999.99, does the budget FX model have what it takes to earn our respect as a gaming machine? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gatewayfx6840 Laptop coolers are almost as common as cell phone cases or other "generic" items that are easy to produce. The key is to stick with a well-known company that has a reputation of producing quality cooling products. Today we are taking a look at the Massive23 LX from Thermaltake. Thermaltake is a well known name for their cooling products and various PC accessories so it will be interesting to see how this product balances performance and portability. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/massive23lx Liquid cooling kits are often a good way for those inexperienced with PC water cooling to "get their feet wet" so to speak, without having too difficult a time during installation or likely chance of failure due to mistakes or mishaps. Some systems like the recent CoolIt ECO or Corsair H50 really simplify things by being pre-assembled and sealed, making them no more difficult to install than most aftermarket air coolers. Others, like the Tt ProWater 850i or Swiftech H20-220 Compact, do require assembly but include all the parts you will need and/or combine some of the functions of each piece for ease of installation. The item that we have for review today falls into the latter category, Swiftech's latest series of water cooling kits, the H20-X20 Edge. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/swiftedge Logitech recently announced updates to their popular G-Series line of gaming products with the release of the Gaming Keyboard G510, Wireless Gaming Mouse G700 and Wireless Gaming Headset G930. The G510 replaces the G15 gaming keyboard while the G700 is the first wireless gaming mouse from Logitech since the G7 which is now over half a decade old. Today we will be taking a look at the Gaming Headset G930, which is essentially a wireless version of the G35 Gaming Headphones that we looked at last year. Although the two are very similar, there are a few subtle differences that Logitech have implemented. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/logitechg930 Today we are going to take a look at a new case from Thermaltake called the Armor A60. Thermaltake has long made great cases with plenty of cooling options and modern looks. I have seen and used a few of their cases over the years and have been looking forward to seeing what they have come up with now. The Armor A60 is a variant of the original A90 that we looked at a couple of months ago. The new A60 has a lot of the same style but there are several differences such as a SideClick EasySwap design and USB 3.0, just to name a few. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/armora60 At CES 2010, MSI demonstrated their Big Bang Fuzion, a high-end Intel motherboard featuring Lucid's HydraLogix 200 chipset. Today MSI brings us the same technology in a much more cost-friendly package, the AMD-based 870A Fuzion. Coming in price-wise between most 890GX and 890FX models, the 870A Fuzion offers MSI's high-end features like Military-Class components, Auto OC Genie and Unlock CPU Core, along with current SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3 standards, with true cross-vendor, asymmetrical video processing support thanks to the HydraLogix 200 chipset. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/870fuzion Over the past few weeks I have been to a rock concert and a college football game and on both occasions, I noticed several people using OtterBox cases for their iPhones. Their popularity has skyrocketed recently thanks to a deal with AT&T who now sells OtterBox cases in many of their retail stores. Today I will be taking a look at two new OtterBox cases for the recently released iPhone 4, the Defender and Commuter series. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/obiphone4 Today's review item is the Asus SBC-06D1S-U. The SBC-06D1S-U is a slim external USB 2.0 Blu-Ray combo drive; quite a mouthful for what we used to call a simple optical drive. Onboard the SBC-06D1S-U is all the functionality you would expect: DVD read and write, CD read and write, and Blu-Ray read. It's even plug and play and has some shiny blue lights. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asusslimbluray Two years ago Cooler Master introduced a new full tower case called the HAF 932. The HAF combined rugged, industrial style looks with many of the same amenities as some of their high end cases like the Cosmos, but without the matching high price tag. The HAF became so popular that it spawned a whole new series, with later additions coming in a variety of sizes and colors. Today Cooler Master introduces the latest entry to the HAF lineup with their smallest model yet, the mid-tower HAF 912. Bearing a striking resemblance to the 922, the 912 is only marginally narrower and shorter in dimension, however it deviates from previous HAF models in other ways. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/haf912 Inside of the box we find a USB 3.0 cable, a USB power adapter, instruction manual, software, and the enclosure itself. The Gauntlet features a very nice black aluminum finish. It has a bit of a heft to it, but it really feels solid in the hand. I suspect it could take quite a beating and still protect the drive inside - well, more so with a solid state drive than a traditional spinning disk. The top of the enclosure displays the Gauntlet logo with the Patriot logo on the front. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/PCGT25S Today we are reviewing the Asus Cine5 sound bar in combination with Asus' older Xonar D2X 7.1 channel sound card. The Cine5 is a compact speaker designed to simulate 5.1 channel sounds with just one front unit. While there are a few similar devices out there, the major advantage of the Cine5 is that it doesn't require any calibration or adjustment. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asuscine5 Sentey is a name that prior to working on this review, I hadn't heard before. This surprised me as I have been building machines for quite a few years. Sentey manufacturers their cases in Shenzen, China and is headquartered in Florida, USA. I wasn't able to track down an exact start date on their website. The case being reviewed, the GS-6400 I can only locate for sale via Amazon.com or the Sentey affiliates in Florida and has a first available date of June 1, 2010. This case is a product of their "Extreme Division", one of five case divisions ranging from a more classic look to slim models to gaming styles. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/senteyarvinags6400 Today I have for review the ASUS M4A88TD-V EVO/USB3 motherboard, which uses the AMD 880G chipset. An extremely close cousin to the 890GX, the 880G also utilizes the RS880 graphics, with a slightly lower 560MHz core frequency and the same 128Mb DDR3-1333 SidePort memory, giving it an HD4250 rating. Of course the same video features are passed down as well, including CrossFireX support, although the 880G utilizes a 16x/4x slot configuration rather than the 890GX 8x/8x layout. The SB850 Southbridge and NEC 720200F1 chip give the M4A88TD-V the same benefits as the 890GX also, namely SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0 support. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/m4a88tdv Today I will be looking at what is the latest version of PC Power & Cooling's most popular power supply, the 750 watt Silencer Mk II. It is 80Plus Silver rated with 88% efficiency, SLI Certified, has a full seven year warranty, and carries with it the reputation of PC Power & Cooling. Read on to check out the PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK II 750! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silencermkii750 BodhiBoxes is probably a name that most aren't familiar with. Run by Pyrodius Inc. which was founded in 2003, BodhiBox is a Home Theater Personal Computer (HTPC) provider based in Orlando, Florida. According to their official blog, the first BodhiBox, dubbed BodhiBox HD, was introduced on June 5, 2009. Less than a year later the company introduced the follow-up version to the original, the BodhiBox HD2 which we have for review today. Like the original BodhiBox, the HD2 is a tiny HTPC that is designed to fit seamlessly into your entertainment system and provide you with everything a traditional HTPC would do at a fraction of the size. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bodhiboxhd Today's review item is the Smartfish ErgoMotion Laser Mouse. This mouse is not only the first ergomotion device from Smartfish, but also the first dynamic posture mouse on the market. Connected to a small pedestal by a ball joint, the mouse allows pitching and rolling to keep your wrist comfortable at any position. Also, with tilt-scrolling and a tiny wireless transceiver, the ErgoMotion Mouse doesn't forfeit any of the typical amenities. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/smartfishmouse It was almost a year ago that ATI began introducing their new Radeon HD 5000 series cards, starting with the then-flagship 5870 model, for a price just under $400. Now here it is 11 months later and the market has held fairly steady, despite nVidia's release of the GTX 400 series in the interim, you still can't find a 5870 for much less than what they initially launched. However what you do find now is a bigger variety of manufacturers offering non-reference cards, overclocked editions and various game bundles. ASUS has combined all three of these into their latest EAH5870/G/2DIS/1GD5/V2 STALKER Edition that we will be looking at today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/eah5870v2 At CES 2010 SilverStone announced that it would be consolidating its power supply lines into a single series, the Strider. That model name has been in use for years, however all of the new Strider models feature 80Plus certification and modular cables, something the older units didn't offer. The one we have for review today is the Strider Plus 600W. Appearing very similar to its 750W sibling, this unit has identical 150mm x 160mm x 86mm dimensions, the same silent 135mm fan, single +12V rail design and offers many of the same protection features such as over-current, over-power, over/under-voltage and short-circuit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ssst60f-p The Choiix Power Fort hopes to provide a solution to the chronic dead battery issue. The Power Fort is a pocket sized rechargeable battery that outputs power through a USB port. Because the majority of mobile electronics either arrive with a compatible USB cable or charge off of a USB variant (micro and mini cables are included in the package), the Power Fort should be compatible with a huge range of portable electronics. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/choiixpowerfort One of the leading pioneers bringing SSD technology to the mainstream marketplace has been OCZ, and the item we have for review today is their Agility 2 drive based on the SandForce 1200 controller. The SandForce-based Agility 2 replaces the previous generation Indilinx-controlled Agility that Rutledge reviewed last year. Based on specifications, the Agility 2 is very similar to OCZ's Vertex 2, like the 50Gb model that Shawn had a look at last month. OCZ offers these models in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from 40/50/100/200/400Gb on the standard drives to 60/90/120/180/240/480Gb on their Extended Capacity versions. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczagility2 The product we have for review today, the BPU-2535v2, allows you to install up to two 2" SATA hard drives or solid state drives into an external 3" drive bay. The drive slots are hot-swappable and feature key locks to prevent someone from walking off with your drives. With the growing popularity of SSDs and their frequent use in desktop machines, which are not traditionally setup for 2" drive mounting, adapters like the BPU-2535 are needed to provide a solid method of installation. The fact that this iStar unit can fit not just one but two 2" drives into one 3" bay will be sure to please those enthusiasts who are using dual SSDs in a RAID configuration. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/istar2535v2 Why is USB 3.0 a big deal? Well to some it might not be... yet. It is rather new, so not many machines out there have it. If your machine doesn't have it, providing you have the room in your case, you can get an adapter card. USB 2.0 has a peak speed of 480MB/sec while USB 3.0 has a peak speed of 5Gb/sec. Those numbers speak for themselves. In this case Vantec revised their SATA to USB 2.0 adapter that connects to the back of a drive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/Vanteccbsatau3 Today, we have for review a Geeks.com Mini USB 2.0 LED Projector. This mini-projector is aptly named: it literally fits in the palm of your hand. With a built-in speaker and various input options, it seems like the perfect gadget for showing slideshows or movies in the absence of a TV or suitable monitor. Also, because it's so small, it should be ideal for quick and easy setup. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/miniprojector Micro Star International, better known as MSI, should need no introduction. They have been around for nearly 25 years building high quality motherboards, video cards, and other PC related products. Their motherboards rank right up there with the "household name" companies. Today I will be looking at MSI's latest X58 motherboard, the Big Bang XPower. Sporting USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s, this board also has some construction features that probably make it the best-built X58 board on the market, and has all of the niceties found on MSI's other Big Bang gaming boards. Will the XPower satisfy? Read on to see! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/x58xpower For the past two years OCZ has been capitalizing on the Jonathan "Fatal1ty" Wendel name to promote their gaming series of memory and power supplies. The product we have for review today is the new OCZ Fatal1ty 750W power supply. The 750W carries OCZ's exclusive PowerSwap five year warranty, ensuring if you ever experience a problem with your power supply, you'll get a new replacement and not a refurbished unit. The 80Plus Bronze certification rates the 750W at a higher efficiency, and the new modular cable design utilizes low-profile, molded cables rather than stiff, bulky nylon mesh wrap. nVidia SLI-Ready certification determines the 750W to be dual-GPU capable, with quad +12v rails and four 6+2pin PCI-e cables. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ocz750fty SilverStone has created what they call the "Air Penetrator Fan." It is specifically designed for intake fan applications. The design goal for Air Penetrator is to focus airflow into a column that can be channeled through various obstacles inside the modern computer case for more efficient cooling performance. This is different than a traditional fan that makes a cone of air and deals with the obstacles by increasing the RPMs and subsequently, the noise. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/SSTAP121Fan It was a few months ago that we reviewed the MSI 890GXM-G65 micro-ATX AM3 motherboard, and while the 890GX was the first of AMD's newest chipsets to be released this year, it was far from the last. The latest to join the 800-series lineup are the 880G and 870 mainstream boards, as well as the flagship 890FX. MSI's implementation of the 890FX chipset offers many of the same features that the 890GXM does, such as their Heatpipe Thermal Design, Military Class Components, OC Genie Technology, 140W CPU Support and Active Phase Switching for better power efficiency. Even so, they've reserved a few special features just for their flagship model, like DrMOS for superior power handling capability, improved Military Class Components, Unlock CPU Core support, Real Time OC Dial and Winki, a Linux-based instant-on OS. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msi890fxa Here at OCIA.net, our fans are used to reading content on enthusiast computer hardware and accessories. Once in a blue moon, however, we receive a product whose primary focus is usability, rather than performance. Today's review item, the Choiix Comforter Lapdesk, fits neatly into that category. Choiix is a new division of Cooler Master whose accessories and peripherals are geared towards the computer user rather than enthusiast. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/choiixcomforter The drive we have for evaluation today is the OCZ Vertex 2 50GB, the successor to the popular Indilinx-based Vertex we looked at a year ago. As you may have guessed, the Vertex 2 uses the SandForce SF-1200 which is now used in several other drives from other manufacturers besides OCZ. But what makes the OCZ drive unique is a custom firmware from SandForce that is optimized for maximum IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second). http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vertex2 The NotePal U2 comes equipped with a pair of 80mm low profile fans measuring only 10mm thick. They also have a grill on the intake side to prevent injury from the fan blades. The unique advantage this unit has over many competitors is the ability to move the fans to a more advantageous position like under an inlet vent or where a hot hard drive sits. Worth considering is that many notebook manufacturers pay little to the cooling of the hard drive which can significantly shorten its lifespan. The ability to cool this area of the notebook could increase its life. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmnotepalu2 USB 2.0 is most popular due to wide compatibility but transfer speeds are slow in today's standard. Other options like FireWire, eSATA and the recently introduced USB 3.0 offer much more bandwidth but of course many computers don't support these various interfaces. Until now, the tradeoff has been speed versus compatibility. But with Seagate's new FreeAgent GoFlex portable hard drive, you can get the best of both worlds. The GoFlex drive ships with a standard USB 2.0 interface but what makes this drive unique is the ability to remove the interface and replace it with a complete different interface. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/freeagentgoflex Cases these days come in a lot of different varieties and usually aim for either aesthetics or superior thermal properties. The PS05 midtower case from SilverStone is their new budget model. This model seems to be aimed at the entry level enthusiast on a budget looking for flexibility in how they put together a build. It is a midtower case with a bottom-mounted PSU. The PS05 is part of their Precision Series which brings thoughtful details from high-end chassis designs that are usually left out of entry level models. Items such as the all black interior, cable tie-down spots and vibration dampening hard drive mounts are all part of this model's selling points. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/SSTPS05 Noctua has long been known for their quiet fans and have earned quite the reputation for silent operation and outstanding cooling ability. Both Shawn and Zahn have recently reviewed some Noctua heatsinks, the NH-D14 and the NH-C12P SE14, each targeted at a different audience. Today I will be taking a look at the NH-U9B SE2, a compact heatsink that is designed with lower end / HTPC use in mind. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nhu9bse2 Today I will be looking at Thermaltake's latest gaming mid tower, the Armor A90. If you are familiar with Thermaltake cases, you will see that this case is a hybrid between two of their product lines, it is in the VL9000 series so it has the superior cooling qualities of the V9 but is also part of the Armor series so it has some really aggressive styling to make your rig stand out at LAN parties. And of course you can expect the ruggedness you always find in Thermaltake cases. Read on to check out the Armor A90! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/armora90 As NAND Flash technology has continued to develop and Solid State Drive manufacturers push the envelope of controller speed, we have seen performance figures that approach, and even bump against, the threshold of SATA 3Gb/s bandwidth limitations. Thus the need for a new standard, SATA 6Gb/s, is making its way into design specifications of new hardware. However to date there has been only one solid state srive manufacturer to bring a SATA 6Gb/s product to market, Crucial with their C300 RealSSD series. Join me as I take a closer look at the Crucial 128Gb C300 RealSSD SATA 6Gb/s drive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/128c300 SilverStone produces a variety of products from cases and power supplies to coolers and storage enclosures. With the HDDBOOST, the basic concept is that we are combining the storage capacity of a traditional hard drive with the speed capabilities of a solid-state drive. That alone would be a good reason to look into the HDDBOOST but furthermore this device is targeted at users who have an existing system and would like a speed increase but don't want to reinstall the operating system and start fresh. SilverStone claims that an existing host drive can see an increase in performance of up to 70%. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hddboost Most of us spend quite a bit of time picking out just the right chassis, case fans and coolers for our desktops but notebooks are often left out of the cooling game. There are, however, a few products out there that try to address this. One such product from Cooler Master is the NotePal ErgoStand that we have for review today. We have seen several different versions of notebook coolers, most opting to be a bit more portable than the ErgoStand which can be described as a more stationary stand. The ErgoStand comes with a fan speed control and a 4-port USB hub built into the stand. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmergostand If you are frugal like myself, spending money on anything that isn't a necessity to life can be a task. One way I have recently discovered to offset this ouch moment is to buy used products, also known as refurbished or re-certified in the tech industry. Millions of people buy and sell used goods on sites like eBay and Craigslist every day. Why take the hefty financial hit on something that is going to drop in value rather quickly when you can pick up a slightly used model and save a substantial amount of money? Often times these refurbished or re-certified items might just be missing a manual or a cable and never made it out of the factory and thus, are still new. Furthermore, depending on where you buy a refurbished item from, a warranty may still accompany the item as is the case with today's display we have for review, the Samsung SyncMaster 2494HM DVI / HDMI 24" LCD Monitor. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/syncmaster24in Today we have for close examination the latest in NZXT's Crafted series of PC enclosures, the micro-ATX sized Vulcan. Tailored especially for gamers who desire easy portability in more of a standard tower style case rather than the typical cube design, the Vulcan bears a slight resemblance to their Classic series M59 gaming case. It features an angled and hooded front bezel with raised panels on top and sides to accommodate interior components. To make transporting the Vulcan between LAN parties easier, NZXT has sized it smaller than your traditional mid-tower and includes a convenient removable carry handle. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtvulcan Targeted as an entry level mid-tower case, the Elite 430 Black is designed for minimum footprint with maximum use of interior space. Cooler Master claims even dual Crossfire HD5970 cards and oversized tower style air coolers like their V8 and Hyper 212+ will fit. Able to house up to six 120mm fans, the Elite 430 offers excellent cooling potential while tight mesh inserts allow filtration of incoming air. Blue LED lighting and a generous sized side panel window help the Elite 430 really show off its stuff, while the fully painted black interior adds the finishing touch. Join me as I take a closer look at the Cooler Master Elite 430 Black mid-tower case. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cme430black The next thing you notice if you are familiar with previous versions is the lack of a rubber flap over the MicroUSB port. It looks like they did away with it when converting from USB to MicroUSB. The MicroUSB port is smaller and recessed and there is a small pinhole LED light on the front to show activity on the drive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/wdpassport320 We have looked at quite a few budget and mainstream solid state drives over the past year or so from the likes of OCZ Technology, Patriot Memory and Transcend. At first glance this may seem a bit odd to the casual observer when you consider that none of these companies are known for producing traditional mass storage drives. But as we know, SSDs are comprised of physical memory chips which is exactly what all of these companies specialize in. Even so, it just seemed unnatural to discuss this new storage medium without the presence of storage giants like Western Digital and Seagate. Just over two months ago, however, Western Digital silenced my concerns and introduced their first consumer-grade solid state drive, the SiliconEdge Blue in capacities of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. Today we will be taking a look at the 64GB model and see how it compares to other similarly-priced products. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/wdsiliconedge64 Shawn just recently finished up the review of the Vantec NexStar 3 SuperSpeed 3.5-inch USB 3.0 Enclosure, and today I have the exact same product but in a 2.5-inch frame. This enclosure is sized for smaller notebook drives and designed for fast storage on the go. With up to 4800Mb/s theoretical transfer rate, USB 3.0 should be perfect for a solid state drive even, and whereas the 3.5-inch enclosure doesn't quite fit an SSD correctly, this 2.5-inch version will. Not to mention how much easier it will be to carry around. Immediately we can tell from the pictures that the 2.5-inch version looks nearly identical to its bigger brother, with the same mirror finish and chrome trim, gloss black color and blue LED lighting. The aluminum frame is of course smaller to accommodate the notebook drives, but other than that it's hard to tell the two apart. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vantec2usb3 While at CES earlier this year we stopped by OCZ Technology's suite for a look at what they had planned for the coming year. The focus of their display was the emerging solid state drive market with several new and updated lines on display. While there we were also shown a prototype of their upcoming USB 3.0 portable solid state drive which was nameless at the time. Preliminary read / write speeds looked promising and the drive itself was encased in a sleek brushed aluminum enclosure. That prototype would eventually be called Enyo and we have one of the first production samples for review here today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczenyo128 With a new fan design featuring Noctua's Vortex-Control Notches and included Ultra Low Noise Adapters, the D14 is not only an awesomely effective cooler, but also extremely quiet at the same time. For those seeking a quality cooling solution without yielding up quite so much real estate, Noctua offers a revamped version of their popular NH-C12P, now designated the SE14. Included is the same NF-P14 140mm cooling fan found on the D14, coupled with what Noctua refers to as their "C-shaped" cooler, featuring six heatpipes connecting the copper base to a large array of aluminum fins oriented parallel to the motherboard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/noctuac12p Less than two months ago I had the opportunity to check out the Strato 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones from Ozone Gaming. If you happened to read that review, you already know that the Strato performed pretty well in every aspect except perhaps the most important: comfort. The Strato headphones use on-ear ear cups which put pressure on the pinna (outer ear) that causes discomfort even after moderate use. After our review, Ozone agreed to send over a different gaming headset for evaluation, the Ozone Oxid. The Oxid are a bit different than the Strato in multiple categories but perhaps the most important is the ear cup design as these use over-the-ear cups. If the Oxid is indeed more comfortable than the Strato and scores high in some of the same areas the Strato did, this could prove to be a quality headset. Read on as we put them to the test. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ozoneoxid The hype is finally over regarding USB 3.0 and we are now beginning to see compatible devices trickle into the marketplace. Most new motherboards like the recently reviewed ASUS P7P55D-E Deluxe and MSI 890GXM-G65 come with native USB 3.0 support but even those with older boards can take advantage of faster speeds using a USB 3.0 PCI-e card. USB 3.0 flash drives are few and far between at this point, but hard drive enclosures like the Vantec NexStar 3 SuperSpeed 3.5" we have for review today are readily available from multiple manufacturers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nexstarusb3 I'd like to take this moment to introduce you to the SilverStone Strider Plus 750 Watt Power Supply, a fully modular system. This unit is a new premier power supply from SilverStone that I'll have the privilege of testing here today. We have looked at a few SilverStone power supplies in the past and all have walked away with an award of some sort. Can the new Strider Plus 750w continue this trend of high quality that we have come to expect from SilverStone? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/striderplus750 Sparkle Computer Corp is perhaps best known for their nVidia-based graphics cards. They have sent over one of their latest creations, a version of the popular GTS 250 graphics chipset. This is the same G92 series core that first appeared in the 8800GT and continued in use through the early 9600GSO, 9800GT, GTX and GTX+ cards, finally to end up as the GTS 250. Over its lifespan the G92 has gone through a die shrink from 65nm to 55nm, which helped to result in less power usage and lower temperatures. Sparkle has taken that concept to a whole new level with a low power, low profile version of the GTS 250 designed for use as a home theater PC component. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sparkgts250 Sparkle Computer Corp, the same company that has manufactured nVidia-based video cards for many years, is now branching into the power supply market and looking to make a big splash doing so. For review today we have one of their new Gold Class power supplies in the 1250W variety. The Gold Class gets its name in part due to the 80Plus Gold rating, reserved for those power supplies exceeding 90%+ efficiency. Couple that with six +12V rails rated for 20A each and you've got a 120A claimed peak load handling capability, that's a whopping 1440W! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/spark1250 So far this year we have tested several USB 3.0 devices including a USB 3.0 drive dock and two USB 3.0 external enclosures. Today we have a USB 3.0 kit for review from Computer Geeks that is comprised of a USB 3.0 ExpressCard, USB 3.0 enclosure and a 2.5" SATA drive. By combining the interface card, enclosure and drive into one bundle, Geeks offers a complete package upgrade for those laptop users on the go who need fast, affordable storage. Join me as I take a closer look at the Computer Geeks USB 3.0 SuperSpeed 2.5" External Hard Drive Kit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/geeksusb3 Sunbeamtech has released a new USB 3.0 version of its popular Airbox 3.5" External SATA Enclosure which we have for review today. In addition to the Airbox, Sunbeamtech also offers a 2.5"/3.5" USB 3.0 docking station and a dual-port USB 3.0 PCI-E 1x expansion card. The Airbox USB 3.0 enclosure is identical to their eSATA version with the exception of the interface. It is an aluminum body, single 3.5" drive external enclosure featuring an 8cm blue LED cooling fan and detachable stand for optional vertical orientation. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sunair3 Today we will be looking at the successor to the original Solid, the Solid 2. The Solid 2 is one of two drives currently listed under OCZ's value family; the other being the Onyx which is their bottom line entry level unit. While this drive won't feature any of the cutting edge advancements seen in enterprise level drives, it will be interesting to see what has trickled down to the value line over the course of a year. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/solid2 Thermaltake continues to improve the Toughpower line, as we have for review today their latest 775W XT. This marks a deviation from their normal model numbering scheme of using power ratings in increments of 50W, with a 575W, 675W and 875W units also joining the ranks. The refreshed Toughpower XT series continues to offer Thermaltake's usual amenities such as 80 Plus Bronze efficiency, 50 C continuous power rating, S.P.T. visual status monitor, single +12v rail design and both nVidia and ATI multi-gpu certification. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tttpxt775 Launched in January, the Redwood core represents ATI's third chip in the Evergreen series. Using a 40nm die size, coupled with only 64W peak power, 14W idle, and a sub-$100 price, the 5670 is poised somewhere between the previous 4670 and 4770 in performance. MSI offers three versions of the 5670, a 512Mb card, a 1Gb card, and the one we have for review today, the 1Gb Cyclone. Although all three cards use an improved cooler rather than the reference single-slot design, the Cyclone ups the ante with a dual heatpipe arrangement similar to their 4000-series high-end coolers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msi5670cyc ASUS had a huge setup at CES, displaying both consumer electronics such as laptops and netbooks as well as individual components like graphics cards and motherboards. We were naturally more interested in the component side of things and were given a full tour of their new and upcoming products. One of the motherboards we looked at was the P7P55D-E Premium, a P55 Express chipset board with a wealth of features including SATA 6.0 Gb/s support. Today we will be looking at the Deluxe version of this board that includes native USB 3.0 support as well as a few other differences. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/p7p55dedeluxe Kingwin has added three USB 3.0 devices to its product roster this year, two SATA enclosures (one 2" and one 3") and the DockMaster SATA HDD dock we have for review today. The DM-2535U3 is a single bay drive dock that accepts either 2" or 3" SATA drives. It features USB 3.0 connectivity for bandwidth up to 5Gb/s and plug and play capability. Facing competition from an overabundance of USB 2.0 drive enclosures and the already super fast eSATA interface, can USB 3.0 really surpass the popularity and speed of existing devices? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingdm3 New for this year CoolIT introduces the ECO Advanced Liquid Cooling system, a simplified version of the Domino without the LCD control panel. Similar to other Asetek designs, such as the Corsair H50 and NorthQ Siberian Tiger, the CoolIT ECO system consists of a combination pump and block, a 120mm fan and heat exchanger and the tubing to connect them. Like the Domino, this pre-filled and self-contained system appears easy to install and maintain, and the target price keeps it affordable for the average user. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cooliteco The cooler we have for review today, the Thermaltake Frio, has been designed to handle up to 220w of thermal design power and is fully compatible with six core processors. With five large 8mm heatpipes set into a wide copper base, and supporting all of the major socket types, both Intel 775/1156/1366 and AMD AM2/+/3, the Frio is ready for maximum performance. A tower style cooler with dual 120mm fans setup in a push/pull configuration, mounted to 48 0.5mm thick aluminum fins and a bolt-through socket mounting show that the Frio means business. At over 1,000 grams, this is certainly no light-weight contender. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttfrio NZXT is rather new to the case business in comparison to names like Cooler Master or Antec, but they have been taking both companies by storm with their award winning Classic series. Today I've got the pleasure of taking a look at the NZXT Beta Evo from the Classic series. This case was purchased by myself for my rig to replace an Antec 300. When I originally saw the roll-out of the NZXT Beta, I was rather surprised that a $50 case, considered part of the budget market, was going to have a black interior and cable management abilities. At the time I was running the Antec 300, but I wanted a case with a bottom-mounted PSU as that had become my preference in design. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtbetaevo Cooling is very important to us here at the Overclock Intelligence Agency. Sure, good hardware is necessary to build a stable, fast system, but a good heatsink/fan combination can be the most cost-effective way to turn a decent rig into a great one. It comes as no surprise, then, that we tend to review a lot of cooling products. Today we have for review one of the newer CPU coolers from Cooler Master, their Hyper 212 Plus. The Hyper 212 Plus belongs to Cooler Master's performance line, aiming to provide overclock-worthy temperatures to users on a budget. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmhyper212plus It's been nearly four years since we last looked at a Noctua air cooler here at OCIA.net. This is a real shame as they are widely considered one of the top air cooling manufacturers in the world, held in the same regard as Thermalright and Tuniq. Today we have their flagship cooler in for evaluation, the NH-D14. This is an absolute monster of a heatsink - more like two coolers welded together with dual fans. Those with cramped mid tower cases need not apply. But just because it is very large doesn't automatically make it worth your hard-earned money and this wouldn't be the first time that a large cooler has failed to deliver on perceived high expectations. Does the NH-D14 have what it takes to keep the Noctua brand in the top three globally? Keep reading as we put it to the test. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/noctuanhd14 According to their about us page, Ozone was created by a group of gamers that were fed up with the current offering of peripherals targeted specifically to gamers. This group set out to produce cost-efficient gaming gear that delivers function and performance without sacrificing quality and style. Today we will be taking a look at one of their flagship gaming audio products, the Strato 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ozonestrato As I'm sure many people will tell you, frequently reviewing or benchmarking lots of different computer hardware can be a real pain in the butt. Sure, trying out new gear is usually fun and it's exciting to get our hands on leading edge technology, particularly before it's publicly available. But the physical act of constantly replacing components in our test machines can get a bit monotonous, especially when you spend so much time disassembling, then installing, only to disassemble it yet again. So over the years there have been a small number of manufacturers that make cases designed specifically for the reviewer or "bencher", such as the one we have for review today, the Banchetto 101 from Microcool. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/micro101 With the ever increasing speeds obtainable from modern solid state drives, more and more enthusiasts are switching to using them as their primary system drive in desktop machines. Since most SSDs are designed in the 2" notebook format however, which many desktop computer cases are not equipped to handle, this leaves users with a quandary over how to mount their new drive. Use only one or two screws to hold it? Double-sided tape? Or maybe just leave it dangling at the end of the SATA cable? For those who want something a little more secure and a cleaner looking installation, Icy Dock has the perfect solution. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/icydockssd But little did I know, Corsair's plans for their new chassis were vastly different than my assumptions. I've often thought that if companies would simply listen to their customer's wants and needs rather than trying to decide on their own what an end user wants, they would be vastly successful. Corsair has done just that with their debut chassis, the Obsidian 800D. By listening to end user and reviewer feedback, Corsair steps up to the plate with a chassis that has the potential to be an all-time great. Keep reading as we take a detailed look at the Obsidian 800D to see if it can live up to the hype. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/obsidian800d Although AMD's latest chipset the 890GX, codename RS880D, is very similar to last year's 785G - RS880, the most striking improvement is the addition of a new southbridge, the SB850. Supporting USB 3.0 and SATA 3.0, the SB850 opens up much needed additional bandwidth for faster external accessories and solid state drives. While many 890GX boards utilize a full size ATX format, MSI's initial offering is the 890GXM-G65, a microATX style. The 890GX offers integrated graphics, using the RV620 graphics core, which supports DirectX 10.1, Shader Model 4.1 and a host of video decoding and acceleration formats. CrossFire is supported but the 16 available lanes must be split into a dual 8X configuration. Hybrid CrossFire is also available, allowing use of a HD5450 discrete video card to be paired with the onboard for up to a 25% improvement in gaming performance. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/msi890gxm Today we will be taking a look at NZXT's new line of premium extension cables. I realize that a review of extension cables doesn't sound very interesting, but this could be a product that you didn't even realize you need / want. Aside from the obvious fact that these cables will extend the length of your current power supply cables, they are also individually sleeved in black mesh which can drastically improve the aesthetics of your system build while helping to improve airflow. Join along as I take a closer look at the NZXT Premium Cables. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtcables When I think of a notebook computer, I typically envision it out and about with its owner, whether it be in a coffee shop, on an airplane, in a hotel room or at the office. Perhaps this is because I own a desktop and spend the majority of my computing time on it. But the fact of the matter is that there are many people that use their notebooks around the house to listen to music, surf the web, chat, check email and watch movies. I even know a few people who rely on a notebook as their only computer. Logitech is targeting users just like this with their newly released Speaker Lapdesk N700. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lapdeskn700 Although released in August of 2009, there is little doubt that heatsink manufacturers like Thermaltake are receiving more interest in their Socket 1156 solutions thanks to Intel's release of the new Core processor family at CES back in January. Based on a new 32nm manufacturing technology, these new processors produce much less heat than their 45nm counterparts. But like every heatsink provider, Thermaltake knows there are users who want better-than-stock performance without sacrificing noise or sinking a lot of money into a cooling solution (no pun intended). Does the $29 Thermaltake Silent 1156 fit into this mold? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silent1156 In the world of PC customization there are a wide range of products to choose from when looking to house your computing hardware. Some are expensive and high quality, while others are expensive and not worth their weight in tin. Others are great bargains and targeted towards the modding community, while some are cheap both in price and materials. Today we look at the Raidmax Skyline and decide which of these categories it falls into. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/raidmaxskyline The budget mid tower computer case market is one of the most saturated when it comes to computer components. There are literally hundreds of different low cost mid tower cases to weed through when trying to find one that will meet your needs. I'll be the first to admit that many offerings are complete garbage. The key here is to find a chassis that combines the right mix of features and good looks while still being easy on the wallet and that is exactly what Thermaltake is aiming for with their recently released V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case. With a retail price of only $39 USD, most would expect the bare minimum but read on because the V3 is dressed to impress. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttv3be Crucial under its parent company Micron has been producing high quality, standard spec computer memory for more than 30 years. Although a latecomer to the performance marketplace, Crucial has not disappointed their fans and has built quite a name for its Ballistix line of memory over the last six years, beginning with their high speed DDR up through DDR2 and now DDR3. The Tracer series adds an interesting twist, that of LED activity lighting on the memory sticks themselves, useful for indicating memory utilization and also just for the bling factor. The memory I have for review today is the red version of Crucial's latest Ballistix Tracer series, in a 2x2Gb kit of PC3-12800 8-8-8-24. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cructracddr3 With a name like Arctic Cooling you would probably suspect, and rightly so, this was a company that specialized in high performance cooling hardware for computers. But you may be surprised to learn that Arctic Cooling has recently released several new products that have no ties to cooling at all, such as a line of audio gear. It's one of these that we'll be taking a look at for review today, the Arctic Sound E352 earphones. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ace352 In the past, Cooler Master's power supply offerings have showcased features such as high efficiency and silent performance. With their new GX (Gamer Xtreme) line, they hope to combine these features into one high power, super stable product. Today, we have for review Cooler Master's new GX 750W PSU. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmgx750w I can't remember the last time I actually paid much attention to my keyboard and mouse. As long as they perform their function with relative ease and accuracy, I no more consider their input any more than I consider the way my legs work while walking, or my hands when I pick something up. So when I received the Rosewill RKM-1600RF slim wireless keyboard and laser mouse to try out, I knew I was going to have to not only put forth a conscious effort to pay attention to the way these devices operate, but also get used to the differences between them and my usual set of hardware. The Rosewill set is an RF wireless keyboard and mouse combo, with a slim, low profile scissor-switch design, and a selectable dpi laser mouse. Join me as I take a closer look at the Rosewill RKM-1600RF. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rkm1600rf SSDs still may be a few years away from mainstream acceptance due to the high cost of ownership versus a spinning drive, but for the enthusiast looking to round out their system or someone wanting to give their notebook a kick in the pants, there is no single upgrade that will do that better than a solid state drive. Today we will be taking a look at a drive from Patriot Memory, the 64 GB Torqx. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/torqx64gb With the flood of parts available on the market, along with new ones coming out at an insane rate, it can be hard to keep up with all of them and figure out which parts are truly worth your money. This is where this article comes in, by showing you what parts will give you the most performance and allow you to build a top-notch Gaming PC out of a $700 budget. When done properly, overclocking is a relatively easy way to get a nice performance boost without additional costs. This build features components that were picked in part due to their ability to overclock well. http://www.ocia.net/articles/700gamingpc External drives are indispensable when it comes to transporting large amounts of data or having a means of portable storage for backup. There's no doubt that USB flash memory drives are hard to beat when it comes to small and lightweight, but sometimes they just don't offer enough capacity. The external drive enclosure we have today from Computer Geeks is a very small unit designed for a 2" SATA notebook drive, and features two methods for connecting to a computer, either through USB 2.0 or eSATA. As an added bonus it supports powered eSATA, a new standard for supplying operating voltage for the unit over the same cable that's used for the data stream so a separate AC adapter is not required. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/geeksesata Many years ago it was quite common to find notebook computers sporting PCMCIA cards. If you wanted to add a Token Ring, Ethernet or Modem to your laptop, you had to buy a PC Card that plugged into one of the available slots in the side of the chassis. Even after these devices began to become integrated, there would be new technologies emerge that required purchasing an add-in card, although the need for such expandability slowly waned as USB became the popular choice for external peripherals. With the advent of SSD technology and eSATA interfaces, it has become easy to saturate a measly 60MB/s USB 2.0 connection. Obviously a faster method of transfer is needed and USB 3.0 just hasn't materialized as quickly as we hoped. Thus for review today we have the Vantec Dual eSATA ExpressCard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vantecesata Today we will be taking a look at the latter, a full size ATX board based on the H55 chipset from EVGA, aptly dubbed the EVGA H55, part number: 123-CD-E635-KR. Aside from being a full size board, EVGA's offering brings some innovative features to the table, such as dual heatsink mounting support which allows you to mount either a Socket 775 or Socket 1156 heatsink and EZ voltage read points which allow you to quickly and easily check the voltages of your system with a voltmeter directly from the motherboard. Continue ahead as we take an in-depth look at the EVGA H55 Motherboard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/evgah55 By the middle of Q1 2009 AMD began releasing new AM3 based processors with integrated DDR3 memory controller, and a revised 785G chipset with new SB710 Southbridge soon followed. ECS joined the fray with their A780GM-M and A780GM-M7 micro-ATX motherboards, and just as they did previously with the AM2+ A780GM-A Ultra, they have followed these with an upscale, full size ATX A785GM-AD3 Black Series. Sharing many of the same features as the rest of their Black Series boards, the A785GM-AD3 offers solid caps, gold plated CPU and RAM contacts, Special ACC (Advanced Clock Calibration) and support for AMD OverDrive or traditional overclocking via M.I.B. II BIOS tweaking utility. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ecsa785gm Today's review item is the Cooler Master Hyper TX3. Unlike many of the coolers you're used to seeing reviewed here at OCIA.net, the Hyper TX3 is not designed for high-end processors, nor is it geared towards overclockers. Indeed, the TX3 is Cooler Master's latest mainstream cooling solution, compatible with i5 and below, as well as Phenom II and below. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmhypertx3 Codenamed Clarkdale, the new LGA 1156 i3 / i5 chips are built on the Westmere 32nm process, joining the previous 45nm Bloomfield and Lynnfield releases in the Nehalem family. Another new idea Intel implemented in these chips is adding a GPU core directly on the processor alongside the CPU. Three new chipsets were also introduced that allow you to run one of these GPU-equipped processors without a discrete video card. Intel Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading make an appearance in the i5 series as well. All of this and more just ahead as we take a detailed look at the Intel Core i5 661 processor. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/i5661 A visit to SilverStone's website reveals they currently offer four different series of HTPC cases and a whopping thirty-two models! The GD05 we have for review today is part of SilverStone's Grandia series of "mainstream" HTPC enclosures. These are designed for the multimedia PC builder on a budget, that still accommodate a standard micro-ATX board, full-size power supply and video card. The last case of this type we reviewed here at OCIA.net was the GD02 almost two years ago. While there have been two revisions between that one and the GD05, they all share a similar chassis and seem to differ mainly in style. Join me as I take a closer look at the SilverStone Grandia GD05. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ssgd05 Last week we took a look at the NZXT Tempest EVO, and today we have up for review the latest in their Crafted series, the Hades. Not since the Lexa Blackline have we seen an NZXT case with red lighting. Whether this switch from the all too common blue LEDs has any significance in the naming of this case or not, red is definitely becoming more and more popular with the various case manufacturers. The Hades is a nine bay, mid-tower design that like many in NZXT's Crafted series, has sculpted front and side panels. Black is the only color available and there is no side window, however there are several other features NZXT has incorporated into this case that are worth a closer look. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxthades Nowadays CPU coolers come in every imaginable size and shape. While some still retain the same basic format, many now sport heatpipes and exotic coatings, even the processor OEM coolers. And some are just downright strange looking, like the Thermaltake SpinQ. The SpinQ VT is slightly different from the original SpinQ in that it tilts the cylinder vertical. The number and dimensions of the fins remain the same, as does the 80mm centrifugal fan, other than LED color. And despite Thermaltake's advertised spec that the fins are now copper as well, the SpinQ VT weighs in at almost 175g less than the SpinQ. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttspinqvt In addition to their current case lineup, NZXT produces several different types of accessories, from cables to power supplies, cooling fans to fan controllers, and other case accessories as well. The item we have for review today falls into that last category, the IU01 USB Expansion module. As NZXT points out, the IU01 addresses an issue common to most gaming PCs, a lack of substantial power and expandability from front panel USB. While it is not uncommon for motherboards to have several USB headers, cases often only have one or two sets of front panel USB ports to connect to them. Some USB devices may also have higher voltage requirements than can be provided from the motherboard through a traditional USB port. This is where the NZXT IU01 can really help. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtiu01 While originally known for their computer graphics cards, Hercules has within the last few years expanded into other growing market segments such as personal multimedia systems. The product we have for review today is the Hercules XPS 40 2.0 Slim speaker system. If you are not familiar with the various types of speaker systems, 2.0 indicates that this is a very basic system comprised of only two speakers, a left and a right. Let's take a closer look at the Hercules XPS 40 2.0 speaker system. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/herculesxps2 Thermaltake had several cases on display including the much-talked-about Level 10. This is the first time I have seen this case in person and I must say it is certainly different. The Level 10 is unique in the fact that most of the computer's components which are usually found in the same area are kept separate in this chassis. The power supply, optical drives and hard drives are all located in individual compartments in the Level 10. This allows the user to easily and quickly swap parts in the system without having to fool with other components. The Level 10 can hold up to six hard drives and includes built-in 2.5" brackets for Solid State Drives. http://www.ocia.net/articles/thermaltakeces10 More than a year ago we took a close look at the original NZXT Tempest and gave it our OCIA.net Seal of Approval. Among the list of laudations were its good looks, roomy interior, massive amount of airflow yet quiet operation and reasonable price. Externally the Tempest EVO doesn't look much different, it shares the same appearance, dimensions and weight as the Tempest. It also offers the same number of drive bays, cooling fans and expansion slots. So what, if anything, did NZXT actually do to the Tempest to warrant giving it a suffix? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tempestevo Dropping to 32nm means a smaller overall die, allowing Intel to fit more transistors onto the chip, ultimately making it run faster, cooler and with more features while requiring less power to operate. For desktop users / overclockers, this means lower chips and hopefully higher clock speeds when pushed to the limit. In mobile applications, we can expect better battery life without sacrificing performance. http://www.ocia.net/articles/intelces10 The first stop in the suite is the USB3 solid state disk. This prototype drive uses an Indilinx controller and should be available at the end of the month for around $20 more than an external SATA SSD. Available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, this drive makes possible the idea of an "anonymous workstation." http://www.ocia.net/articles/oczces10 On the second day of CES, we got a chance to head over to the CoolIT booth on the show floor and meet up with them about this year's new products. CoolIT had a lot of different displays, from the expected consumer hardware to a 24-peltier prototype cooler for commercial use and much in between. http://www.ocia.net/articles/coolitces10 On day two of CES, we had a chance to head over to the Wynn hotel to have a look at EVGA's suite. As usual, EVGA had a strong, practical focus for their product line this year. When we spoke with Jacob Freeman, he made it clear that EVGA tries very hard to provide users with useful features such as voltage readout points and onboard power buttons, rather than gimmicks and frills like shiny lights. http://www.ocia.net/articles/evgaces10 Without a doubt, the main focus of MSI's display this year was on their motherboards. Our MSI rep was very passionate about their goals for the US market with their two flagship boards leading the way, Big Bang Fuzion and Big Bang Trinergy. He emphasized the need for MSI to focus on hardware as this category is slowly taking a backseat to more general consumer electronics among the buying public, especially in the US. http://www.ocia.net/articles/msices10 We've reviewed two Moneual cases previously here at OCIA.net, the MonCaso 972 and 932, and found them to be very stylish and extremely rich on features. With touch screen LCD, front panel knobs and remote control, these enclosures look more like traditional home theater components rather than cases for computer parts. But today Moneual introduces a new line of micro-ATX cases, the MonCaso 600 series. Unlike their other offerings, the 600 is a slimline desktop model that can also work in a micro tower configuration. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/moncaso601w Patriot showed us two new SSDs as well, the Zephyr and the Inferno. The Zephyr is based on a JMicron controller while the Inferno is built around a Sandforce controller. Unlike many SSDs we have seen in the past, we were told that both of these drives have no on-board cache as the controller is able to handle everything smoothly. http://www.ocia.net/articles/patriotces10 Much like Unveiled and Digital Experience, ShowStoppers is another press event at CES that gives companies the opportunity to speak with the media in a more relaxed environment than the show floor offers. The great thing about these media events is that each venue almost always has different companies displaying, so you aren't likely to run into the same company each time. ShowStoppers was about as big in size as Digital Experience although it certainly seemed less cramped. http://www.ocia.net/articles/showstoppers10 Day one of the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show started with a trip to Piero's Italian restaurant across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center for the Lunch @ Piero's media event. As the name suggests, this two-day event is held at Piero's restaurant where roughly 20 companies display their products for the media in attendance. Invited guests are also treated to a complementary meal in a relaxed atmosphere. http://www.ocia.net/articles/pierosdigital CES didn't officially start until today, but members of the press caught a glimpse of some of the latest advances in hardware courtesy of CES Unveiled and Pepcom's Digital Experience. OCIA.net was on hand for both events as we met with several companies showcasing what they have in store for 2010. http://www.ocia.net/articles/unveiledexp10 2010 is officially here and for technology enthusiasts across the globe, this means one thing: the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES offers technology companies the opportunity to showcase their latest products for the coming year. The event is not open to the public but as members of the press, our four-person staff will be bringing you all of the latest announcements from the companies you care about most. http://www.ocia.net/articles/cesintro10 A little over a year ago I reviewed the Cooler Master HAF 932 full tower case, and awarded it the OCIA.net Seal of Approval for its rugged good looks, great features and reasonable price. Cooler Master cases are always top quality and the HAF 932 is no exception. However, the HAF 932 may seem a bit plain in aesthetics, being mostly just black upon more black. If any future owners out there happen to be looking for some alternative to spruce up your HAF 932, Cooler Master may have just what you're looking for in the AMD Limited Edition HAF 932. Sporting a different color scheme along with AMD Phenom II logo and Dragon Fusion graphics, the AMD LE HAF 932 is sure to be a hit among the AMD crowd. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmhaf932amd Today I will be taking a look at two new iPhone 3G / 3GS cases from OtterBox, the Commuter and Commuter TL. Unlike the Armor and Defender series that we have previously looked at, the new Commuter series takes a less rugged approach at protecting your iPhone. Gone are the water / dust / sand / drop-proof claims that put OtterBox on the map. The cases we have for review today are aimed at users who want to protect their iPhone from everyday use yet still maintain a classy and sleek handset. Can OtterBox deliver to this market or should they simply stick to rugged gear? Read on to find out! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/commuter Prolimatech has also released a new version of the Megahalems. It is a Megahalems that has been covered with a beautiful black nickel plate and sports LGA 1156 hardware so it will fit every enthusiast Intel CPU built in the past five years or so. But under that shiny black nickel finish, it still is a Megahalems at heart. Today I will be looking at this cooler, the Prolimatech Mega Shadow Deluxe Edition. Will it keep my LGA 1156 i7 870 nice and cool? Read on to see! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/megashadow Although AMD has had some exciting new mid- and entry-level chips come to market in the last several months, their top of the line Phenom II series has not seen much action since the beginning of the year. But since we won't see AMD's new six-core desktop Thuban processor emerge until next year, what we have to feed off of in the meantime is a new Phenom II core revision, the C3. Beginning with the highest-clocked chip, the 965 BE, the new core will begin to filter down through the rest of the lineup through next year. Enhancements to the core are expected to lower voltage requirements and thus reduce operating temperature, which can potentially lead to better, more stable overclocks. Is it worth the upgrade expense for a current Phenom II owner to make the change to the new revision though? Join me as I aim to find out! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/965x4be Being such a techie, I am typically an early adopter with anything tech related but I decided to take a rain check when it came to the whole high definition format war. While I do enjoy the occasional movie, I am far from a movie buff or someone that has a huge movie collection. Combine that with the fact that one format would ultimately prevail over the other (R.I.P. HD DVD) and prices only come down over time on new technology, it only made sense for me to wait on Blu-ray. Fast-forward two years to today and Blu-ray has made its way into the homes of many. Today I will be taking a look at a portable Blu-ray player from SilverStone that operates via USB so you can use it with either a notebook or a desktop computer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ts05 When it comes to housing your PC, there are many paths you can take. The computer case market is full of choices, from the flashy and bright to the low-key and elegant to the utilitarian. Sometimes it is hard to pinpoint a quality case for under $100, and almost impossible to find quality at a $50 price point. Today I examine a diamond in the rough: the NZXT Gamma. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtgamma When you think of Corsair you probably envision memory modules or USB drives. Maybe you even consider their more recent forays into power supplies and solid state drives. But it may come as a surprise to learn they have now expanded their product line to include cases and liquid cooling components! The Hydro Series H50 liquid CPU cooler is one of their new items we have for review today. It is a compact, pre-filled and sealed kit consisting of a combination pump and water block, along with a 120mm radiator and fan. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/corsairh50 Though they have been around since 1985, I have never owned any Patriot Memory products before now. My memory purchases have been from the "household name" companies, as have most of yours. I always enjoy reviewing products from brands I have never owned before, and was delighted when I was asked to review a Patriot memory kit. Today I will be looking Patriot's Viper Series DDR3-1600 8-8-8-24 triple channel memory kit. It is designed for the i7, and supports Intel XMP. Of course it does all of this at the i7's required Vdimm of 1.65v. Will the Patriot memory kit do us proud? Read on to see! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/patriottriple1600 The BlacX Duet we have on hand today is the third in the BlacX series of hard drive docking stations from Thermaltake. We first saw the BlacX at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show and got our hands on a review sample a month later. We came away from that review very impressed with the concept and implementation, although USB-only transfer left us wanting more. The second coming of the BlacX, dubbed the SE version, featured a 4-port USB hub but still failed to deliver eSATA transfer capability. With the latest release of the BlacX, Thermaltake has done away with the 4-port USB hub, added a second slot that allows for two drives to be mounted simultaneously and finally added eSATA compatibility. This is looking more like the BlacX we hoped for nearly two years ago. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/blacxduet All it takes is one idea to make millions. That is the first thing that came to mind when I opened the package from Luxa2 containing today's review item, the H1-Touch Mobile Holder. True to it's name, this product does one thing and one thing only: holds your mobile device. Developed by Luxa2 (a division of Thermaltake), the H1-Touch was designed with Apple's iPhone / iPod Touch in mind but seemingly could be used to hold most any handset. Priced at $50 at a popular online reseller, one has to question whether the H1-Touch offers any tangible benefits or if it's simply an overpriced novelty item. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/h1touch Tired of the same old boring gaming audio headgear? Looking for something unique to wear at your next LAN party? The guys over at Gameskulls may have just the thing you're looking for. It's the GS-1 Tactical Gaming Helmet, and it's definitely a whole lot different than any other gaming headset we've ever reviewed or even seen previously. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gameskullgs1 Securing your home and business can be a costly venture. Some spend thousands of dollars on closed-circuit cameras and expensive installation. Today we will be taking a look at a wireless night-vision camera that can be monitored from your PC or 3G phone at a cost of under two hundred dollars. Say hello to the Airlink101 SkyIPCam777W. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/skyipcam777w Today I will be looking at the highest efficiency rated power supply that I have received yet, the OCZ Z Series 650 watt power supply. With efficiency rated at over 88%, this power supply is 80Plus Silver rated. It sells for a price that won't break the bank and is SLI certified. Read on to check out the OCZ Z Series 650! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zxseries650 Although Dynatron is certainly no stranger to the CPU cooling industry, their heatsinks and Top Motor brand fans have been more commonly found in OEM cooling solutions and have largely gone unnoticed among many in the enthusiast and overclocking community. They look to possibly change that perception with their Genius and Evolution series CPU coolers, which incorporate many of the features we come to expect in a modern cooler. What I have for review today is the Genius G950, an oversized twin-tower style heatsink with a definite serious approach to quiet CPU cooling. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/dynag950 Today I will be reviewing a sharp looking new desktop HTPC case by nMediaPC. It accommodates a standard ATX motherboard and a full sized power suppy, with pricing in the economy range of HTPC cases (under $100). It definitely does not look like a PC case, which is definitely the trend in the HTPC case arena. Read on to find out about the nMediaPC HTPC-6000B! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/htpc6000b I was just looking back through our archives and realized it has been more than a year since our last Apevia case review. As it turns out, they have updated revisions of some of their most popular enclosures such as the X-Cruiser 2 and the X-Dreamer 3. The third installment of the X-Dreamer series continues the tradition of a mid-tower chassis with round LCD temperature display and controls located on the front panel. While maintaining nearly the same exterior dimensions and pretty much identical interior capacity, the X-Dreamer 3 improves the model by enlarging the side panel window, upgrading to 120mm fans and reducing the weight. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apexdream3 It was two years ago when we reviewed Ultra's then-new line of X3 power supplies, the 600, 800 and 1000 watt models. Not much has changed in power supply requirements since then, other than the obvious, an ever-increasing demand for more wattage! To accommodate the need for greater amounts of power, meet revamped cabling requirements and target the latest specifications for efficiency, Ultra has updated their X-series of power supplies and is releasing a new lineup of fourth generation models beginning with 400, 500, 600, 750, 850, 1050 and 1200 capacities. Dubbed the - you guessed it - X4, these latest power supply offerings from Ultra bear a striking similarity to their previous X3 generation PSUs. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultrax4 As a computer service technician, I know for certainty that having the right tools for the job is essential to a speedy and profitable repair. Little gizmos like power supply testers and a digital multimeter can help to rule-out or diagnose problems in a fraction of the time. One problem I have always run into is testing hard drives, as you usually need another system to test them out in. This usually leads to a congested workbench, crammed with testing systems for IDE, SATA, and laptops for the smaller form factors. Today we take a look at a solution to this problem offered by Vantec, the NexStar Universal Storage Adapter. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vantecnexstar As many experienced PC enthusiasts will tell you, the power supply is the lifeblood of your computer. If the CPU is the brain of your computer, then the PSU is definitely the heart. The quality and dependability of your entire computer is only as good as the unit that powers it. Today we take a close look at the Thermaltake Toughpower XT 750w PSU to see if it is fit for the task. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tttough750xt CPU cooling is a highly competitive market. Over the past 10 years we have seen a multitude of cooling innovations and breakthroughs in how to draw heat from our processors. It seems that lately all the newer coolers are getting bigger and some cases just don't have room for them. Lately I have seen an increase in coolers blocking memory slots and making cable management essential for good airflow. Not all CPU coolers need to be 8" tall and fill up half of your case interior to be effective. Case in point: the Spire TherMax Pro. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/spirethermax A little more than a month ago, Thermaltake sent over one of their latest notebook coolers for review, the Massive23 CS. Utilizing a rugged aluminum frame, huge 23cm fan and selectable multi-colored LED lighting, the Massive23 CS earned our Bronze Seal of Approval. While the aluminum cooler is definitely a high quality and attractive piece, it also carries a bit of a hefty price tag with it, listing at $59.99 retail. Today we take a look at the Massive23 ST, a plastic version of the CS that shares most of its features with the more expensive CS, all except for the price. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttmass23st While the Thermalright HR-03 series are certainly great VGA coolers, they are also quite large and take up a good bit of space. Depending on the size of your CPU cooler, other motherboard components and how much space there is in your PC case, you may run into interference issues using the HR-03, especially in SLI or Crossfire. So in response to this Thermalright developed the T-Rad specifically aimed at supporting multi-card configurations. With its slim 25mm height the T-Rad offers the same nickel-plated copper heatpipe and aluminum fin cooling as the HR-03 series, but in a much thinner package. The T-Rad GTX continues support for nVidia 8800/9800 and ATI 3800/4800 cards while adding the nVidia GT200 55nm core cards to the compatibility list. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/trtradgtx When Intel released the i7 last year, all of the memory manufacturers immediately answered with low-voltage triple channel DDR3 kits. If you didn't know, Intel's VDIMM requirement for memory used with the i7 CPU/X58 chipset is 1.65v to prevent damage to the i7's internal memory controller. Though the standard voltage for dual channel DDR3 memory modules is 1.5v, voltages for DDR3-2000 modules commonly run 1.9v and higher. This posed a definite challenge to the memory guys regardless of speed, timing, or overclocking capability, 1.65v is it!; no extra voltage to add stability to that high speed or those tight timings. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczblade1600 Being an avid overclocker means hundreds of hours and many different methods of cooling will be implemented in the quest for a cooler processor. This involves experiments in thermal interface materials, application of said pastes, lapping, airflow, and most importantly coolers. CPU coolers come in many shapes and sizes, and more often than not, those shapes and sizes have a direct bearing on the cooler's ability to draw away and dissipate the heat created by energy lost in your processor. Today we get to test the newest offering for Tuniq: the Tower 120 Extreme. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniq120extreme Today I have for review NZXT's latest in their Crafted Series of cases, the mid-tower Lexa S. Now you may recognize that name, in fact NZXT has previously released two other cases under the Lexa moniker, the original Lexa and the Lexa Blackline. All three are considered mid-tower cases, with the Lexa S measuring up at just under 19" tall by 21" long and 8" wide. The Lexa S comes pre-installed with a bunch of fans and provisions for liquid cooling. Join me as I take a closer look at the NZXT Lexa S. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtlexas Each earmuff has an adjustable slider that ranges from 1-9. It makes a nice, satisfying click each time you change to a different number which I found handy with trying to make them even without taking them off your head. The earmuffs also swivel from side to side. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/g35 Docking stations for laptops have been around almost since the existence of laptops themselves. The problem is that not all laptops have a docking port built in. Usually only the business class notebooks, which are often more expensive than their consumer grade counterparts, have provisions for connecting to a dock. The product we have for review today is a universal laptop dock featuring DisplayLink technology. Although this device carries the HP brand name, its design allows it to work on just about any computer that has a USB 2.0 port. Freed from traditional docking station restraints of specific brands and/or models, the HP USB 2.0 Docking Station allows external connection of VGA, DVI, USB, SPK, MIC and NIC devices and shares these peripherals through one standard USB connection to the host computer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hpusbdock Input devices are arguably the most important pieces of hardware you buy for your PC. A $5,000 computer is only as good as its peripherals, and by the same token, a good keyboard and mouse can make a budget rig feel like a million bucks. I have recently become a collector and connoisseur of the finer input devices such as mechanical keyboards. When asked to review a new mouse from Cooler Master, I jumped at the chance to put this device through the paces. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmsentinel True to their company slogan "leading the world of quiet computing solutions", Zalman identifies each of their silent CPU coolers with CNPS in the model number. CNPS stands for Computer Noise Prevention System. The new 10X represents Zalman's first foray into the more conventional rectangular-fin tower style. There are two models to choose from, a basic no-frills Quiet version and the more advanced performance-oriented Extreme, both of which we will be looking at today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zalman10x Apple changed the digital music player game with its release of the first iPod nearly eight years ago. The overwhelming dominance of the iPod has led to the emergence of many new accessories for it like cases and docking stations to name a few. Today we will be taking a look at the latter, a premium music system for the iPod / iPhone from Logitech, the Pure-Fi Dream. Although the Dream has been around for over a year now, it is still their top-of-the-line iPod docking system and for that, we feel it's certainly worth looking at. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/purefidream Last summer the nVidia GT200 core cards, the GTX 260 and GTX 280, were relatively new and expensive. Now, more than a year later, the GT200 core is still nVidia's top-dog, but the cost of entry to this level of performance has dropped significantly. With the advent of newer, faster cards such as the GTX 275 and 285, the now lowly but revamped, die-shrunk 260 can be had for well under the $200 mark, or even less for the original 65nm, 192sp core cards. It's one of these cards, basically identical to our original EVGA GTX 260 from last year, that we've got from our friends over at Geeks.com for comparison today. Join me as I take a look at a modern SLI implementation and see if two cards really are better than one. http://www.ocia.net/articles/gtx260sli OCIA.net traditionally reviews computer hardware. We normally review things that every computer user wants or needs. So, it may come as a surprise to you to find out that today's review item is a beanbag chair. But, if you think about it, it's not so out-of-the-blue. I don't know about you, but all I do all day is sit: I sit in my car and go to work, I sit all day at work, I sit in the car on the way back from work, and then I sit at my desk reviewing at night. Okay, my life is a little more interesting than that, but you get the point; even computer enthusiasts need a place to plop their keister. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sumoomni Last year in the hot summer heat, during the peak of power usage for most of the US, OCIA.net reviewed the P3 Kill-A-Watt electricity meter. This nifty little device earned our Seal of Approval for its usefulness in monitoring exactly how much power our electronic devices consume. However, manually plugging and unplugging devices or having to crawl under your desk to flip the switch on a power strip can become tedious or at the very least, inconvenient for most people, just to save a few bucks on our electric bill. Today I have two new products for review from a company named TrickleStar that address these issues. It's the PC TrickleSaver and accompanying accessory, the TrickleSwitch. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tricklesaver Super Talent has always been a name synonymous with memory. After using Super Talent RAM in the past, I held high expectations for their new line of USB Flash drives: the Pico series. Measuring merely 1.50" x 0.50", the Pico is by far the smallest USB thumb drive I have ever used. This drive lends itself to being kept in your pocket, on a key-chain, or as I will be testing it, on a necklace. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/stpico If you spend a lot of time working on your computer, whether for business or pleasure, there is little doubt that you have amassed a great deal of invaluable data. Sure, you can take steps to prevent data loss such as backing up your information onto multiple drives, an external drive or even burning data to an optical disc. But these measures typically only protect you against hardware failure or possibly theft. What would happen if your house caught fire and burned to the ground, or a flood passed through and totally destroyed all of your home's contents? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/iosafesolo500 Towards the end of last year, Rutledge reviewed the Razer Moray In-Ear Headphones, a set of light weight earbuds perfect for those gamers on the go. While also offering compatibility with all sorts of mobile devices, such as multimedia cell phones, MP3 players and personal game consoles, the Moray could also be used on a PC with the included adapter. However times have changed, technology has advanced, and gamers demand more. Wouldn't it be great if they would make a set of travel buds with an inline mic so you could frag on the go and still communicate with the rest of your clan? Or how about being able to call your virtual dog's name or blow on a hot dish, fresh out of the oven without having to talk directly into the screen of your DS? Razer has you covered, as they release the Moray+ mobile gaming communicator. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razermorayplus As both popularity for SSDs and development of their technology grow, manufacturers are beginning to release their second generation SSD product lines. Today we have for review OCZ's second generation "mainstream" SSD, the OCZ Agility 120GB SSD. Back in May, OCIA.net site owner Shawn Knight had a chance to look at the first generation of mainstream SSDs from OCZ. That mainstream SSD, the Apex, performed exceedingly well for its price-point. Today, we'll see how substantially SSD consumers benefit from the development of technology over time. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczagility120 As the move towards smaller and lighter netbooks begins to gain in popularity, the dominance of older high heat-producing full size notebooks may eventually ebb over time. True, there will always be those users who want a larger screen size, or need the full performance of a high-end, multi core processor, and for as long as there are laptop computers making the tops of our thighs uncomfortably warm there will likely be coolers designed to combat it. Today I have a product for review from Thermaltake with the descriptive title of Massive23 CS, which makes use of a single, large 23cm cooling fan. How effective are laptop coolers at actually reducing operating temperatures though? Join me as I put the Massive23 CS through its paces. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttmassive23cs The right case can make or break a build. It is the utmost outer expression of your PC's personality. From the eggshell steel 'whitebox' to the acrylic torture rack, PC cases vary greatly in form and function. My first real gaming computer was housed in a Thermaltake Armor Jr. I was never a big fan of the hinges and the door was a bit flimsy, but I loved that system and logged thousands of hours on it playing various games. My most recent case was also by Thermaltake, the Mozart TX, which is a huge step up - easily one of the largest PC cases on the market. Today we are getting to test out one of Thermaltake's latest offerings in the gaming case market, the Element G. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttelementg Today's review sample, the OCZ Neutrino, gives the consumer a little bit of wiggle room outside of the norm of entirely preconfigured netbook systems. The Neutrino arrives without hard-drive, RAM, or operating system, leaving the purchase and installation of these components entirely up to the user. Because those are the only components that really vary between netbooks, all of the choice you might want in specifying a netbook is yours. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczneutrino Thermaltake advertises the Element as a gaming oriented performance chassis with optimal cooling ability, massive storage capacity and LAN party security. All three models share roughly the same layout, they're all constructed of steel, offer three 5" and seven 3" bays and have the same fan locations available, however each varies slightly in dimensions and weight. The T is the only one of the three that comes with an unpainted interior and lacks the internal power supply / drive support bracket and pre-installed intake fans of the other two. Simply comparing the three visually we see that the T model also has a more basic appearance than the other two. Is the Element T merely a stripped-down, no-frills case or can it actually compete with the other models in the Element series? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttelementt Like the Beta, the Panzerbox comes from NZXT's Classic Series, those chassis typically with a more conservative appearance than their Crafted product line. Also along the same lines as the Beta, the Panzerbox is advertised as a mid-tower case and comes painted black inside and out. But there is where the similarities end. The Panzerbox is constructed of aluminum rather than steel, and features a unique shortened size that nearly lends itself to being classified as a micro-tower design. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtpanzer Cooler Master recently introduced the SNA (Slim Notebook Adapter) 95 to cover these and any other circumstance you can think of where having a spare adapter might be handy. The SNA 95 is unique in that it comes with nine different adapter tips to fit most any make / model of notebook. Furthermore, Cooler Master included a built-in USB port that can be used to charge USB devices. Oh, and did we mention this is the smallest 95W notebook adapter on the market? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sna95 The Sentry 1 controlled five fans, featured a monochromatic screen and fit a 5.25" drive bay. The Sentry LX also controlled five fans, but featured a multi-colored display and took up two 5.25" drive bays. The new Sentry 2 combines a multi-colored LCD of the LX with the compact form of the Sentry 1 and adds a touchscreen display. Let's take a closer look! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sentry2 I was one of the million or so consumers that purchased Apple's new iPhone 3GS on launch weekend last month. Besides the nice increase in overall speed, one of the first things I noticed was the seemingly poor battery life compared to my 1st generation iPhone. I was able to squeeze almost two full days of use out of the original iPhone, whereas the new 3GS struggled to make it through a single day of casual use. I also knew that I would need a new case for the phone, as my old one wouldn't fit the new, slightly different exterior. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/juicepackair There are all sorts of laptop coolers on the market, but OCIA.net has only seen a few of them. Back in February of last year, our reviewer Frank Stroupe had a chance to check out NZXT's high end, aluminum laptop cooler, the Cryo LX, which fits up to 19" wide-screen laptops. NZXT was born into the case market, so designing for style on top of functionality is the name of their game. This design process proved thoughtful and effective as the Cryo LX earned our seal of approval. Today, NZXT is at it again, as I have a look at their Cryo S aluminum laptop cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtcryos From the first time I laid eyes on the original OCZ XTC ram cooler, I knew I had to have one. With my habit of overclocking, RAM heat was always a concern and I had been primarily keeping chips cool with an 80mm fan and some zip-ties. When I spotted the first XTC cooler in a case mod picture thread, the chrome polished body and LEDs attracted me like a moth to a flame. Within a week I had located and attained my XTC cooler, and it has been in my main system for generations of builds. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xtcrev2 Users interested in a blazing fast RAID0 SSD setup but don't require that much storage have other options, however. Another popular line of SSDs from OCZ is the Vertex, which starts out at only 30 GB versus the Apex entry level model at 60 GB. The Vertex is categorized as a performance solid state drive and although it uses the same multi-level cell (MLC) technology as the Apex, there are some notable upgrades inside, including the Indilinx SSD controller and the inclusion of 64 MB of onboard cache. The Vertex is more expensive per GB than the Apex, but the dual 30 GB configuration we will be tinkering with today will only set you back $300, half the price of the dual Apex drives we used... but only 25% of the capacity. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vertexraid Here at OCIA.net, we're no strangers to power supplies. However, I've personally only had the chance to look at one BFG PSU before, the impressive "performance series" LS-680: a non-modular unit aimed towards the middle-of-the-line crowd. Today, we're going to have a look at a higher end unit, the EX-1000, "enthusiast series" modular power supply weighing in at 1KW of power. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bfgex1000 New for 2009, Kingwin has replaced the RVT-12025 with a newer, updated tower cooler dubbed the XT-1264. Both models retain their machined individual copper heatpipe base with aluminum fin configuration coupled with a 120mm fan. The new cooler design is a few millimeters shorter than the old RVT but nearly 2cm thicker for increased fin surface area. Heatpipe count has been increased from three to four for better performance and heat dissipation. Support for Intel's socket 1366 is also added. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingwinxt1264 Late last year we reviewed the Kingwin EZ-Dock hard drive docking station, where it earned our Seal of Approval for its features and price. Kingwin has followed up the original EZ-Dock with its sequel, the EZ-Dock 2. In addition to the 2 in the model name signifying the second in series of hard drive docking stations, it could also be construed to refer to the fact that it now supports not just one, but two drives operating either independently or in conjunction with each other. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingwinezdock2 Samson markets the C01U as the first affordable studio-quality condenser microphone with a USB interface. The first thing you notice is the weight of the microphone. It has a heavy gauge mesh grill protecting the diaphragm and has a real meaty, solid feel. Taking a look under the hood, we find a 19mm internal shock-mounted diaphragm with a cartoid pickup pattern. What sets this apart from similar condenser microphones is it's directional pickup. It allows you to face the mic in the direction of the sound you want to hear without grabbing the noise from the rear and sides of the mic itself. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/samsonpodcasting The market for consumer electronics and computer hardware has been generally immune to this sponsorship phenomenon - that is, with one exception. There are a host of products out there stamped with the name of a certain Johnathan 'Fatal1ty' Wendel. Fatal1ty, if you're not familiar, has on the order of 30 "notably accomplished" gaming tournament placements on Wikipedia, including five 1st place finishes for Quake III Arena. Whether Mr. Wendel's gaming prowess gives him any sort of above-average knack for choosing quality computer hardware I'll leave for you to decide today as we look at OCZ's Fatl1ty 550W Profess1onal Series PSU. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/fatal550w A few weeks ago I noticed that the WiFi connection on my phone started acting up, randomly disconnecting and such. I suspected my Belkin router as the culprit, but after testing the phone on other wireless connections as well as having my laptop work perfectly on the Belkin, I knew it must be something else. I did a good bit of research and came across the crazy idea of putting your phone in the freezer to fix the problem. With nothing to lose, I figured I would try a variant of that method and see what happened. http://www.ocia.net/articles/chillfix So in this day of smaller PSUs, the 1kW+ power supply is still a legitimate choice for many enthusiasts and gamers. Today I will be looking at BFG Tech's latest and largest power supply, the EX Series 1200 watt modular PSU. Yeah, I know, BFG is a video card and motherboard manufacturer, but they have been building power supplies for some time. The EX 1200 has BFG's Frequency Conversion technology, which allows for 80Plus efficiency, even at loads as small as 10% (most power supplies aren't very efficient at very low loads). This technology makes the EX significantly different from nearly every power supply on the market. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bfgex1200 This is the first point-n-shoot camera that I have worked with extensively in about three years as I have been using a DSLR exclusively. Before that, I owned a few Nikon and Olympus point-n-shoot cameras and have had some brief shooting time with a Canon and Kodak camera in the past year or so, neither of which I was terribly impressed with. Of course, it would be foolish to think the FX150 would outperform the DSLR so I won't exactly be comparing the two side by side here today. I have, however, been looking for a nice point-n-shoot unit to carry around with me at all times and I aim to find out if the FX150 is a worthy contender in that category. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/fx150 There are a multitude of aging notebooks and laptops out there, such as my IBM ThinkPad T40, that are incapable of being upgraded to take advantage of the latest SATA hardware. With a 1.5GHz Pentium M processor and 1GB of memory, the old T40 has system specs similar to the more modern netbooks that have become increasingly popular of late. But with a hard drive that's five years old and only 60GB in size, the T40 gets quickly left behind in the performance department, as it chugs along with slow read/write speeds and high access times. Can installing a current, leading-edge SSD sporting the old PATA interface breathe new life into this 5-year old paperweight? Join me as I aim to find out! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingspecssd Since launching the GTX 200 core one year ago, nVidia have continued to enhance and develop their existing 9000 series, refining the G92 core that began life in the latter part of their 8th generation cards. But other than the fact that prices continue to fall as newer, faster revisions of chips are created, and you can now get a GTX 260 for less than half the price it launched at last year, there have been no new mid-range or low-end cards introduced to round out the bottom of the 200 series model line. Instead we've seen such cards appear as the 9600GSO, 9800GTX and 9800GTX+ to take up these slots. It seems nVidia decided it's time for a new naming convention, and has basically re-released the 9800 GTX+ rebranded as the GTS 250. Let's have a closer look at one of these new cards, the XFX GTS 250, and see if there's anything else to the new name. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xfxgts250 NZXT Corp is relatively new to the computer hardware industry. Five short years since the company's founding in 2004, NZXT has not only released more than 15 cases, but also gaming mice, power supplies, and other accessories. Their inventory ranges to all ends of the price spectrum: from their $450 all aluminum Khaos, to their budget case, Alpha, which sells for about an eighth of that price. Today, we're going to have a look at the just released NZXT Beta, a case for those with slim wallets. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtbeta I had heard of installing Vista and even Windows 7 RC using a flash drive, but never XP (my operating system of choice). I spent some time researching and by combining a few things I learned on various sites, put together a method that was pretty quick and worked perfectly. I decided to make this guide (complete with clickable screenshots) for people like me who need a no-nonsense method of installing XP from a flash drive. http://www.ocia.net/articles/xpflashdrive Cooler Master introduces a smaller version of the HAF design, the 922 mid-tower. The HAF 922 shares its bigger sibling's rugged, industrial looks and overall style, bundled in a slightly smaller package. The HAF 922 measures only about two inches shorter than the full tower 932. Possibly better classified as an oversize mid-tower, this works out to just one 5" bay difference between the two. Weight is down by a good bit, only 21 pounds compared to the 932's almost 30. Join me as I take a closer look at the Cooler Master HAF 922 mid-tower. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmhaf922 It's not often that a previously unheard-of company comes along and launches such a wide product line targeted specifically at a certain niche group of computer enthusiasts. But that is just the scenario that we have today with relative new-comer Azza. While some might say that the PC case and power supply market is already saturated with more than enough choices, sometimes a fresh look is exactly what is needed to jump-start a whole new direction in product development. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/azzasolano The Behemoth takes a similar shape to the Logitech MX Revolution, with extra grooves that are home to the ring and pinky fingers. The scroll-wheel, in an old-fashioned choice, does not light up and does not provide any sort of tilt-scrolling features. Also on top, we see the on-the-fly DPI switching button. As the sensitivity is higher on the mouse, more of the blue LEDs turn on. The left side of the mouse is home to two buttons, typically used as forward and backward for browsing. The Behemoth is generally single-textured, with a soft rubbery-plastic feel to it, which isn't too grippy that it is uncomfortable, but won't get slippery when sweaty. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczbehemoth The Thermaltake Litepower 450W is rated for a very respectable 85% efficiency, which places it in the 80 Plus Bronze classification. Another feature of the Litepower to be noted is the impressive five year warranty offered by Thermaltake. The Litepower 450W has some features more often associated with a high quality power supply, such as the large 120mm fan, open mesh rear vent and a nice amount of heft to the unit. The UL identification number E190414, indicates that this particular unit is manufactured by FSP Group. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttlite450 Taking all of this into consideration, most users simply can't afford / stomach the pain to spend $800 for only 64 GB of storage capacity regardless of what kind of memory it uses. But, these same users also desire something that is quick and won't cause stuttering / pauses when used as an OS drive, a common problem with early generation SSDs. For those that fall into this category, OCZ created the Apex Series of solid state drives. Utilizing an internal RAID 0 configuration to help eliminate poor performance and stuttering, can the OCZ Apex live up to our expectations of what a midrange MLC-based SSD should deliver? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apex120gb I received a package a few weeks ago from the guys over at Moneual Labs which contained two items for evaluation: the Cresyn CS-HP500 Headphones that I reviewed earlier this week and the Cresyn C750E In-Ear Earphones that I will be taking a look at today. As the name implies, these earphones are designed to fit into the ear canal and come with three different ear tips in varying sizes to ensure a perfect fit. Priced at just under $100, are these higher-end earphones worth this premium price tag? Continue on as we find out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cresync750e The headphones in question today are the CS-HP500 model which feature a folding design for portability. I will be saving the earphones for a separate review in the near future. I initially assumed the CS-HP500s were a new product, but after some research online I found information on them dating back to 2007. Either way, they are new to me (and most likely many of you as well) so let's see what these headphones have to offer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cresyncshp500 It is the WD Caviar Black 1TB drive I will be taking a look at today. The Black series, in addition to offering the greatest performance of Western Digital's consumer lineup of Caviar drives, also includes the same five year warranty as their more expensive Enterprise class. Sporting a class-standard SATA 3.0Gbps interface, 7200rpm spindle speed and a whopping 32Mb of cache, the WD1001FALS represents Western Digital's top of the line consumer grade hard drive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/wdblack1tb Another week, another new OCZ Technology product hitting the market... or so it seems. For the past year or so, the team over at OCZ have been releasing new products at a feverish pace. Whether its a new memory kit, heatsink, power supply, SSD, keyboard or mouse, it seems there is always something new going out the door. Today we will be taking a look at one of their latest peripherals, the OCZ Eclipse Gaming Mouse. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczeclipse Today, we have for review one of Thermaltake's newest CPU coolers, the Thermaltake TMG IA1. TMG is Thermaltake's "thermal maximum grade" product group, a series of computer hardware products aimed at the quiet computing audience. You can glean a little bit more information from the forgotten TMG website. In contrast to the brute-force approach of the Thermaltake BigTyp 14 Pro, which I had a chance to review a few weeks ago, the IA1 hopes to provide a more elegant and standard way to cool your CPU without a burden on your ears. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttia1 Today we have for review Razer's latest keyboard, the Lycosa Mirror Special Edition. With regard to specifications, the Lycosa Mirror is the same as the original Lycosa, except with a mirror black plastic finish over the whole keyboard. These features include, but are not limited to, pass-through USB, headphone, and microphone jacks, backlit keys, a media touchpad, and fully customizable keys. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lycosamirror One year ago Shawn reviewed the Razer Lycosa Gaming Keyboard, which bears a striking resemblance to the one I have in my hands, the new Arctosa. In case you were wondering where Razer came up with these names, both Lycosa and Arctosa are families of wolf spiders, just like the Tarantula that shares its name with Razer's original gaming keyboard. All of Razer's products are in fact named after predators, their headsets are all named for aquatic hunters, their mice are all snakes and their keyboards are spiders... I guess it's a Razer thing. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razerarctosa While it may be difficult to get excited over a thermal paste, especially when there is a seeming myriad of different brands and types available, it is a necessary and often overlooked commodity. Cooler Master's new ThermalFusion 400 arrived in this plastic blister pack, unusual packaging for thermal paste. Included with the paste is an applicator, the first I've ever seen included with any brand interface material. This is a welcome addition, as it is common for thermal paste makers to give instruction to spread the product around without actually touching it or the surfaces to be covered. The thermal paste itself is in the typical syringe type container with plunger to control the amount of product released. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmtf400 Anyone that spends a lot of time in front of a computer monitor, whether for business or pleasure, knows that productivity is directly related to how much screen space you have at your disposal. Having several windows and programs open and visible at one time can save you a lot of time. Up until recently, if you really wanted a lot of desktop real estate, but didn't want to spend a small fortune to get it, the most economical choice was to run dual monitors. Now that LCD monitor prices have dropped substantially in price, however, many can now afford to upgrade to a larger monitor without breaking the bank. Such is the case with today's review sample, the 24" HP Debranded HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/24hpdebranded We're certainly no strangers to Cooler Master here at OCIA.net, particularly their superb lineup of cases. In every instance, Cooler Master has walked away with an OCIA.net Seal of Approval, and garnered praise not only from myself but also other reviewers. However if there were one negative detail to point out, it would be the higher than average price that these cases demand. One other might be the overly large size of the chassis. Cooler Master's Elite series of cases address both of these issues however. Prices for these entry level enclosures are well below $100, some even under $50! But in order to get the cost down to this budget level does Cooler Master have to cut corners and deliver an inferior product? Or is the Elite series every bit as capable of holding up to the Cooler Master name? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmelite360 With the launch of Deneb, AMD has finally moved to the 45nm process and are breaking in a new socket interface at the same time. The main difference with AM3 is the introduction of DDR3 support. But rather than require a forklift upgrade, AMD has incorporated both DDR2 and DDR3 memory controllers into the AM3 chips. One of the first of these chips debuted last month with the tri core X3 BE 720, running at 2.8Ghz. But with only three cores, is the 720 even a viable upgrade for someone with a first generation Phenom quad or is it just a hamstrung slug of silicon? Join me as I aim to find out! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/amd720be Besides plain ol' PC memory modules, CSX also builds memory for overclockers and gamers in their CEC and Diablo series memory modules. Though Compustocx is well known in Europe, they aren't well known in the US and are working on getting into the North American PC system memory and SSD markets. Today I will be looking at the CSX CEC series DDR2-800 CL5 4GB dual-channel kit. Will the CEC do the trick? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/csx800 When it comes to Solid State Drives, the old adage holds true... speed costs, how fast do you want to go? OCZ's own SSDs such as their Core series of drives, have often garnered praise for their fast read/write times, but like other brands have been priced out of reach of the average consumer. To combat this OCZ has released their Solid Series, a value line of SSD drives for the masses. The 30Gb model they sent over for review today can be found for right around $100. But at that price can it live up to the OCZ name? Or is it merely a glorified USB thumb drive in disguise? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczsolidssd Six months ago NZXT sent over one of their new Avatar Gaming Mice for review. Seeing as how this was their first attempt at an input peripheral aimed specifically at the gaming enthusiast, the Avatar performed very well and got high marks from us and elsewhere around the 'net. About the only complaint we had with it was the placement of the side navigation buttons and their propensity for getting accidentally bumped while maneuvering the mouse. It seems we weren't the only ones to report this flaw, and NZXT we're happy to say has listened. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtavatar2 Today, we're going to have a look at Thermaltake's latest air cooler, the BigTyp 14Pro. The BigTyp 14Pro is the newest generation of Thermaltake's legendary Big Typhoon air cooler, which was met with great reactions back in its day. The Big Typhoon's large footprint and excessive heat-pipes worked as a brute force solution to the problem of a hot processor, and did a great job of it. The BigTyp 14Pro hopes to do the same. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttbigtyp14pro A little over two years ago we reviewed the NZXT Zero, an aluminum full tower case from NZXT's Crafted series. This case earned our Seal of Approval for its good looks and great cooling ability. It's still readily available today from many online retailers, priced in the $130-$140 range. NZXT has released their latest in the Crafted line-up and successor to the venerable Zero, aptly named the Zero 2. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtzero2 While not as powerful as the newly released item(s), previous generation hardware does have its advantages. As I just mentioned, it is much cheaper than the latest and greatest. Also, since the hardware is at the end of its production cycle, odds are that all of the bugs and kinks have been taken care of in previous revisions. And perhaps most importantly, the hardware has been in the community for a while which means it is well documented on tech sites and forums across the net, so you will have a good idea of what to expect in terms of performance and overclocking before buying. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/q9650 The Storm Sniper is actually billed as an "ultra mid-tower" by Cooler Master, sort of middle of the road between a mid-tower and a full tower. While marketed for gamers there are some nice extra features incorporated into the Sniper that any enthusiast can take advantage of, like the adjustable feet, built-in fan controller, robust cooling design and more. The chassis is a hybrid steel/aluminum design and similar to the HAF uses quite a bit of mesh in the front, top and left side for optimum cooling. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmstorm As a follow-up to our EZ-Dock, Kingwin sent over the newest model in their external drive line-up, aptly named the Big Drive. The Big Drive is a dual SATA RAID enclosure, supporting up to 2Tb volumes using JBOD, RAID1, RAID0 and Safe33/50 configurations. It can be connected via USB 2.0 or eSATA interfaces and supports the latest Windows and Mac operating systems. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kwbigdrive Today, we have for review one of OCZ's newer releases, the OCZ Throttle eSATA Drive. OCZ has been producing removable storage for a number of years now, and has, at long last, released an eSATA thumb drive. Promising read speeds of up to 90MB/s and write speeds of up to 30MB/s, the Throttle is sure to be a crowd pleaser. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczthrottle Last week I took the BFG Tech MX 680w Power Supply out for a spin, which earned our Seal of Approval based on several different criteria. The unit was rock solid stable, silent, modular and would look great in most any system. But for the user on a budget or those not into hardcore gaming, the 680 watts offered is simply overkill. If you fall into this category, have no fear, as BFG Tech has something right up your alley, the MX 550w PSU. Virtually identical to its 680w bigger brother, the 550 unit we have on the test bench today is about $25 cheaper, money that could be put towards other hardware or simply stashed away for a rainy day. Will the smaller MX 550w be able to follow in the footsteps of the beefier 680 model? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bfgmx550 But what will come as a surprise to most people is the direction Cooler Master opted to go with the V10. While externally it appears very similar to the air cooler on display at the CES booth, the original consisted mainly of a V8 cooler with an extra bank of fins and a second 120mm fan. But that's not the version we have received for review... oh no. A close look at the product packaging reveals the V10's trump card, 200W HYBRID TEC cooling. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmv10 Being a "celebrity" of sorts does tend to paint a target on you, and Wendel is no different. Instead of praising him as a role model and successful entrepreneur, critics have harped that Fatal1ty branded products have steep price tags and that you are essentially paying extra for the "Fatal1ty" name. A quick check at a popular online retailer reveals that most Fatal1ty branded gear is priced according to its competition. Others tend to forget that the majority of Fatal1ty products are top quality; he doesn't just go around and endorse every product thrown at him. It is with this mindset that we present the OCZ Fatal1ty Series 700w Power Supply for review. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/fatal700w As you reach for the unfamiliar device it seems to jump out of your hand in a glorious leap of faith. Although you attempt to use cat-like reflexes to regain control of your prized possession, the phone smashes into the pavement below. Horrified at what you have just witnessed, you slowly approach the now inanimate mobile phone and find its once glorious LCD screen cracked. Gravity wins again. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/boldotterbox The portable DVD player we have for review from Geeks.com is the PDV-70X from Spectroniq which offers a 7" widescreen LCD display housed in an attractive silver body. It supports 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio, has a standard 480 x 234 resolution, supports DVD, VCD, CD and JPEG playback and advertises up to 2 hours of power with the included rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/spectroniqdvd Today, we have for review CoolIT's latest cooling product: the Domino Advanced Liquid Cooling (ALC) all-in-one kit for single CPU systems. In keeping with their catchphrase, "Target the heat, kill the noise," CoolIT hopes that the Domino ALC provides a silent yet powerful cooling solution. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/coolitdominoalc BFG Technologies is a proverbial newcomer to the power supply market, although their claim to fame began in 2001 with their highly successful line of video cards. Since then, they have expanded to include motherboards, power supplies and even full systems. Today we will be taking a look at one of their modular power supplies, the BFG Tech MX 680w Modular PSU. The MX Series represents the modular version of the LS series which we took at look at last year. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bfgmx689 Today, I will be looking at OCZ's DDR3-2000 SLI-ready 2GB dual channel kit. Supporting EPP, this memory kit is ready for that high-end SLI gaming rig. Here at OCIA.net, we've always loved OCZ's memorythe innovations, looks, and high performance. Read on to check out this high-end OCZ memory kit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sli_DDR3_2000 It's been close to two years since we last took a look at a SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) memory card. At that time, SDHC was just beginning to be implemented into consumer devices and thus, support was pretty scarce. Like any new technology, it was only a matter of time before it caught on with the masses. Fast-forward to today, where SDHC has made a successful transition, effectively replacing the older SD format and has become the most popular memory card format. Capacity has also increased, with SDHC cards currently available up to 32GB in size. Today we will be taking a look at a slightly smaller card in the OCZ Gold Series 8GB SDHC Memory Card. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/8gbgold While the GTX 260/280 cards have taken over nVidia's top slots for video card gaming hardware, their 9 series continues to flush out the bulk of their product lineup, and the 9800 GTX+ reigns as top dog among the 9 series family. The WinFast PX9800 GTX+ Leadtek Limited appears to have identical specs to their standard PX9800 GTX+ with the only difference being that of a slightly different cooler face and bundled game selection. Otherwise both match the nVidia reference specification in clock speeds and chip design. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/leadtek9800gtx With so many power supplies available these days, it is definitely hard to find the right one. From picking the right features, to balancing performance with price, it can seem like they all blend together. Today, we have for review Cooler Master's latest bid into the PSU market, the Silent Pro M 600W, which hopes to stand out among the vast crowd of power supplies currently available. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmsilentprom600 Logitech has had a great deal of success with their diNovo-branded keyboards. The original, the diNovo Media Desktop, was released over five years ago and featured a keyboard, media pad and mouse. A few years later, the diNovo Edge was introduced and despite its high price tag, is still one of the most popular media keyboards among end users. Since then, we have seen the diNovo Edge Mini and even Mac versions come to fruition. Today we will be taking a look at the latest incarnation of the diNovo, the diNovo Keyboard for Notebooks. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/dinovonotebooks AMD released the 780G IGP chipset earlier this year, with its highly-acclaimed onboard HD3200 graphics and an emphasis on multimedia and casual gaming. While originally paired with the SB700 southbridge, the new SB750 began showing up on 790FX/GX boards in mid-summer, and has by now begun to filter down to some of the lower end chipsets such as this one, the A780GM-A Ultra from ECS. One new feature of the SB750 is support for AMD's Advanced Clock Control, which is supposed to help achieve higher and more stable overclocks. ECS completes the A780GM-A Ultra with AMD OverDrive capability, solid caps, integrated VRM heatsink and support for up to 160W for the CPU. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ecsa780gm Right on the heels of our Sunbeamtech HDD Docking Station review comes another external drive storage product from Kingwin, the EZ-Dock. Although offering similar features to the Sunbeamtech and other units, the EZ-Dock isn't just another copy of the same design. It supports both 2.5" and 3.5" SATA drives and can be connected via the USB 2.0 or eSATA interface. It also offers a one-touch backup option that is not available on many of the other docking station brands. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingwinezdock It was nearly a year ago when we reviewed the HR-03 GT from Thermalright. At the time, the GT represented Thermalright's latest and greatest video card heatsink, made to cool the latest and greatest offerings from nVidia and ATI, namely the GeForce 8800/9800 G92's and the Radeon 3850/3870 RV670's. Then in June/July nVidia and ATI released new flagship cards based off the GT200 and RV770 cores. However, aside from some early water block releases there wouldn't be an aftermarket cooling option for the GTX for months to come. But Thermalright was not willing to let their loyal fans down, and based on customer demand they have developed the all-new HR-03 GTX cooler. This represents the first and only aftermarket air cooler for the GT200 series cards that I am aware of. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/trhr03gtx In the months following CES 2008 we have seen a proliferation of hot-swap hard drive docks come to market that all bear such a striking resemblance to the original BlacX that we can only come to the conclusion that Thermaltake is licensing the design. Such is the case with the product we have for review today, the Sunbeamtech HDD Docking Station. Like the original, the Docking Station supports 2.5" and 3.5" SATA hard drives up to 1Tb in size in an easy-to-use hot-swap base connected to the computer via USB. While the original BlacX did not support eSATA, that has since become an added feature and one the Sunbeamtech Docking Station also offers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sunbeamhdddock Last month we reviewed the Tuniq Potency 550W power supply, which earned our OCIA.net Seal of Approval for its robust performance and incredible price. Take that same quality product, double the number of +12V rails, increase power capacity by 50% and add a bunch more connectors, all while keeping the size a mere 2cm larger, and you'll end up with the Tuniq Potency 750W. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniqpotency750 When it comes to mobile gaming, the issue of audio is one commonly ignored. The sounds coming from the games on your PSP or iPhone aren't the most intriguing, so most people simply mute their mobile gaming device in public. Those little gadgets are for more than just games though. If you're going to listen to music, you probably don't want the cheap stock earbuds included with your device. Enter the Razer Moray in-ear headphones, today's review item. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razermoray We have for review today Envision's G218a1 Professional Series 22" widescreen display. At just over $160 at Geeks.com, the G218a1 definitely comes in friendly on your wallet and hopes to be a choice pick for the budget rig. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/envision22 Using a process never before seen in PC cases, the panel is then arched precisely on two sides with automotive-caliber press machines to create the top, front and bottom sides of the chassis. The end result is an aluminum chassis frame with more than twice the structural rigidity of average steel cases, helping to practically eliminate vibration-induced noise. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ft01 Heat spreaders on memory modules are nothing new; they first saw use on RAMBUS memory back around the turn of the century, and quickly caught on in the enthusiast memory market as a means to help dissipate extra heat brought on through higher performance. More recently manufacturers have taken to incorporating heatpipes and additional banks of fins to provide even better cooling capacity. The Thermaltake RamOrb takes this idea one step further by adding a fan directly to the heatsink. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttramorb Last year at CES, we saw OCZ Technology's first bid to the mouse market with their Equalizer gaming mouse. The Equalizer had all the makings of a good mouse-on-the-fly DPI switching, back and forward buttons, a nice rubber feel, even two sizes. Today we have for review OCZ's next try at a gaming mouse, the Dominatrix (I know, right?). http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczdominatrix OCZ Technology first began doing business in August of 2000 and since then has earned a reputation for being one of the top manufacturers of enthusiast computer hardware in the marketplace. From their initial offerings of high speed memory, to their current lineup including power supplies and cooling products, OCZ's claim to fame has been their commitment to the end user. They continue to be innovators in their field and are constantly developing new and exciting products like the one we have for review today, the HF-MK1 HydroFlow CPU waterblock. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczhydro The Thermaltake VI-ON offers a couple different flavors, either a USB/eSATA interface or USB-only, and is available in a high gloss black or white. All versions support 3" SATA drives up to 1TB in size, and feature a SMART active cooling system and embedded drive suspension to reduce vibration and noise. The one we have for review is the black, USB-only model. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttvion While the Denmark-based NorthQ has been making a variety of computer hardware products for the past few years, the availability of their merchandise has always been limited to non-existent in the United States. NorthQ not only manufactures a broad spectrum of computer equipment, from cases to power supplies to CPU coolers (water and air), but also home and car electronics. Their name may not be big in the USA, but we have seen their products before with good results. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/northq3360a The six heatpipes travel up out of the base and around the circumference of the fins, with the outermost pipe routed through the copper section and the inside two pipes traversing the inner aluminum fins. As the heatpipes begin and end in the base it could be said there are really only three pipes, but each capable of bidirectional heat dispersal. The control knob is conveniently mounted in a space between the fins on the opposite end of the cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttmaxorbex Finally we have the Smart Switch, which controls the dual BIOS that Palit has used with this card. In "normal" mode, the card operates at 750 MHz core / 950 MHz memory. When "turbo" mode is engaged, the card is overclocked to 775 MHz core / 1000 MHz memory - talk about user friendly overclocking! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/palithd4870 You may not have heard it used before, but gelid can actually be found in a dictionary. The word literally means very cold or icy. How fitting for a company who specializes in PC cooling components to use it as their corporate name. Gelid Solutions originated earlier this year as a Hong Kong based company under Swiss management. They manufacture CPU coolers, fans and other thermal-related computer hardware for gamers and silent enthusiasts. Today they have sent us a product sample for review, the Gelid Silent Spirit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gelidspirit Today I will be looking at the smallest of the latest line of power supplies by Sunbeamtech, the Tuniq Potency 550 watt. With 80Plus and SLI certification, and a pair of +12V rails at 25A each, this little guy should be able to power my energy sipping Phenom rig. Will it make the trip? Read on to see! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniq_potency550 Color reproduction on this screen is fantastic and these photos don't do it justice. I can easily say that it is far better than my two current Chimei screens. HP screens are well known for their superior image clarity and color reproduction and this unit does not disappoint. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/22hp NZXT now introduces the latest in their Classic line-up of cases, the Whisper silent full tower chassis. Improving upon the success of the HU-001, the Whisper is touted as a step up from the Hush mid-tower. Featuring a large size E-ATX full tower chassis, the Whisper can support up to nine hard drives and a total of seven 5.25" bays with ample space for large expansion cards. Dampening foam, rubber grommets and a padded PSU holder are some of the major features in silence. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtwhisper For some time, FSP Group has been marketing retail PC power supplies in America under the name Fortron Source, and more recently under their real name, FSP Group. Today I will be looking at one of their latest power supplies, a 700 watt PSU in the new Power-Mod series. It is a modular power supply with SLI certification and over 80% efficiency. Will this power supply impress? Read on to see! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/fsp_power_mod_700 One of the perks of my job is getting to look at some of the coolest new computer and consumer electronics, often times before they are even released to the public. Back in January at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we got a sneak peek at Cooler Master's upcoming product line. There were several new and exciting products on display, from cases and power supplies to new CPU and GPU cooling solutions. Today we will be taking a look at one of the CPU coolers we saw on display, known simply as the V8. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/v8 The OCZ ModXStream 600 is a lot of power supply in a relatively small package. Boasting 25A on each of its dual +12v rails, plus an additional 25A each for the +3.3v and +5v, the ModXStream 600 seems at least as capable if not more so than many power supplies with higher wattage ratings. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczmodxstream600 Logitech knows a thing or two about being successful and they have injected this knowledge into their business model. They know that you have to supply a steady stream of new and innovative products to keep customers coming back. They are also well aware that you need a wide range of products, from high end gear all the way down to items that will fit any budget. It is with this mindset that Logitech released the Cordless Desktop S520 last month, the latest addition to their keyboard + mice combos that checks in at a very attractive price point. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/s520 Such begins the introduction for Cooler Master's latest full tower design, the HAF 932. HAF stands for High Air Flow, which seems to be the driving force behind this case structure, with three 230mm fans plus another 140mm fan pre-installed. The entire front of the chassis consists of open mesh from top to bottom, and additional use of large openings in the side, top and rear. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmhaf932 NZXT introduces the first gaming mouse from their award winning design team. As with all of NZXT's PC accessories, Avatar is designed to provide gamers with the ultimate crafted gaming armor to emerge victorious in the gaming arena of choice. Featuring an ambidextrous and smaller form, the Avatar mouse is versatile and ideal for gamers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtavatar You don't need to spend a fortune for a high quality, multiple-use stereo headset. That is, according to TekNmotion, makers of the Yapster Gaming Headset. Yapster was designed for a large audience of users ranging from everyday online computer uses such as PC gaming, internet chat, VOIP or simply high quality stereo music. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/teknmotionyap Swiftech has been around since 1994 and is perhaps best known for their thermoelectric and liquid cooling solutions that first gained popularity in late 2000 / early 2001. Earlier this year I had the opportunity to test the Swiftech H20-220 Compact water cooling kit, and liked it so much I'm still using it on my primary system. Today I have for review the Apogee GTZ, Swiftech's new flagship water block. While it shares the same name with its predecessors, it also leaps beyond the GT and GTX performance charts thanks to an entirely new design that pushes and refines both thermal and mechanical specifications to the limits of today's technology. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/swiftechgtz Even though overclocking has come a long way from hacked BIOS, pencil tracing, etc, it still isn't for the squeamish. You can still fry your CPU or motherboard, though it is much harder due to safety measures built into Intel processors and most motherboards. But with a little preparation and forethought, nearly anyone can successfully give their rig some extra oomph by a mild overclock, or make it really scream with a serious overclock. Read on to find out how! http://www.ocia.net/articles/overclockingcore2 We recently caught up with Robert "Razer Guy" Krakoff, Razer founder and president, who was able to give us a unique insight into the growing gaming market and what consumers can expect in the future. In between a trip from the Games Convention and Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 2008 in Seattle, Krakoff wanted to start off by discussing the company's most recent product announcement. http://www.ocia.net/articles/razerguy NZXT has been building cases targeted for gamers and enthusiasts since 2004. Headquartered in Taiwan, NZXT's company objective is to "provide every gamer with a case that they can identify with." To this end NZXT offers two types of case designs, the more conservative Classic series, and the contemporary Crafted line. I've reviewed models from both in the past and I have to say I prefer the Classic series styling, however today I have for review the Guardian 921 which is the latest in their Crafted series. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtguard921 Rosewill is the brand-name associated with the reseller Newegg.com. Like Costco's Kirkland, Newegg uses Rosewill to sell competition products at cheaper prices than the big names that they already sell because they don't have to play the middle man of reselling, they are selling factory direct. Recently, Rosewill has put together their latest aftermarket GPU cooler, the RCX-V100, which we have for review today. Because companies like Rosewill sell a wide variety of products, they are not always associated with the best of quality. Especially in a market like cooling, where companies have become extremely specialized, many people won't trust a generic name like Rosewill. Can it stand up to the test, though? We'll find out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rcx-v100 Palit is one of the few companies that sell both ATI and NVIDIA cards. Though their rocket-launcher armed frog has only become popularly recognizable in the past year or two, they were in fact founded a whole 20 years ago in 1988. As you know, that's quite a while in tech years. With ATI's new HD 4xxx series of cards, Palit has geared up to add one more PCB to their arsenal, the HD 3850 Super +1GB videocard, which we have for review today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/palit3850 Until now, these two worlds have gone surprisingly separate ways with their cases and peripherals; the flashy-type modders had their bright, intense LCD screen fan controllers, while the classier of builders had the plain vanilla, brushed aluminum rheobus. Today, however, we have for review NZXT's Sentry LX fan controller, which hopes to break that divide. Inset in a classy, brushed aluminum faceplate is a bright, detailed screen. This has potential to be the best of both worlds. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtsentrylx BFG Tech is one of those companies you expect quality products from, no matter what you're buying. While most famous for their graphics cards, they make a range of products, including motherboards, accessories, and power supplies. BFG has a few lines of power supplies, from modular to energy efficient, and has recently started advertising their 550W and 680W LS power supplies. A few weeks ago, our very own Zahn had a look at the 550W version and was generally impressed with the quality and performance versus the price. Today, I'm going to have a look at the 680W version to see if it's true to their slogan, "efficiency and performance meets affordability." http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bfgtechls680 We review quite a few cases here at OCIA.net, but it's been a few months since our last one from Apevia. It's always exciting to see what new chassis designs they come up with, one common factor among them all is the ability of Apevia to produce a quality, stylish case at a very good price. Today we have a new mid-tower to take a look at, dubbed the X-Sniper. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apeviaxsniper J&W Technology is a name I was not familiar with, however they have been around since 1994 and currently sell 450,000 units monthly. Until just recently they have not had any distributors outside of Europe, Asia and Australia, however recently a few of their products have popped up on North American e-tailer sites like Geeks.com. Today I have for review their JW-RS780UVD-AM2+ motherboard. This is a micro ATX board utilizing the AMD 780G chipset, features the latest HT 3.0 and PCIe 2.0, support for DDR2-1066 memory, onboard Radeon 3200 DX10 graphics with 64Mb SidePort memory, and HDMI and HDCP ready. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/jw780g This month OCZ Technology celebrates their 8th anniversary manufacturing high performance memory products for the computer enthusiast market. They're also the latest manufacturer to jump on the Fatal1ty bandwagon, releasing both DDR2 and DDR3 modules under the world famous PC gamer's banner, in PC2-6400, 8500 and PC3-10666 speeds. OCZ sent us over a pair of their new Fatal1ty modules for review, the 2x2Gb PC2-6400 Dual Channel kit, and claim "these high-performance memory kits were co-developed with the expertise of the world's 12-time champion to meet the needs of fellow gamers." http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczfatal1ty One product category that has grown rapidly in popularity recently is the Solid State Drive or SSD. By using an array of flash memory chips grouped together in a standard-sized enclosure, the SSD offers several benefits over a traditional hard disk drive. For one, they have no moving parts, so they operate completely free of noise. They also produce very little heat, which should make them ideal for use in tight spaces where cooling is a concern, like laptops and other portables. Their greater tolerance for vibration and shock are also a boon for notebook use, as is their lighter weight. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/transcendssd While unfamiliarity with the Thermaltake name requires residence under a rock in a remote land, this big named company has also been producing water cooling kits and components for several years now and as such is a known name in the business. Today, I have the Thermaltake ProWater 850i, a complete liquid cooling kit for your CPU. While complete kits don't have the best reputation for performance, they do serve as fantastic introductions to the water scene. Their upgradeability makes them a great introductory choice for beginners and they come with thorough manuals to help ease the leap of faith that is liquid cooling. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttpw850i In the past we've always spec'd a high-end air cooler for our Performance build, however we've seen a few really good yet inexpensive liquid cooling kits come out recently. Among these was the Swiftech H20-220 Compact that we reviewed several months ago. Coming from a brand like Swiftech you know it's going to be high quality and the performance is really good, even for a pre-assembled kit. If you don't have room for a double-sized radiator in your case, the Swiftech Compact series is also available in a single H20-120 model. http://www.ocia.net/articles/performance2008 It's no secret that Intel has been dominating the processor market the past few years, which is why we decided to go with an Intel based system for the Mainstream build. Although the Kentsfield core has been out for some time, prices have only recently fallen to the sub-$200 mark. In fact, the Q6600 made our Performance build the last time out, so it is still quite a capable processor for Mainstream computing. The Q6600 operates at 2.4 GHz, 1066MHz FSB with 2x4M of shared L2 cache. This processor has an excellent price point and is extremely overclocker friendly. http://www.ocia.net/articles/mainstream2008 For that very reason, we started writing these System Buying Guides a few years back. We have three categories of Buying Guides: Budget, Mainstream and Performance. Our Budget Guide has a spending limit of $600, the Mainstream limit is $1,200 and we allocate $2,400 for our Performance Guide. The systems that we piece together here are designed to give you the best overall experience under the given budget. http://www.ocia.net/articles/budget2008 BFG offers several different models of power supplies, from the value-oriented GS to the modular MX series, all the way up to their top of the line ES-800; they have something for every need and budget. The one I have for review today is the LS-550, which seems to fall somewhere in the middle of their lineup. Despite the relatively smallish power rating, the LS-550 offers quad +12v rails, 6 and 8-pin PCIe and ATX 2.2 version compatibility, all backed up by an impressive 5-year warranty. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bfgls550 A company "built on gamers' dreams," NZXT has since expanded upon their "Crafted Series" cases, into a line of more modest, yet still stylish, "Classic Series" cases, and even two lines of power supplies. They have, for the most part, enjoyed great success with all of their products, which are known for being high quality despite having a lower than usual cost. Today we have for review the NZXT Performance Power 800W power supply, one whose launch was abnormally silent and hasn't received much attention. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtpp800 A few months ago I reviewed the Icy Box NAS 4220 dual-drive enclosure from Raidsonic. They've taken the best features of the NAS box and incorporated them into the product we have for review today, the Icy Box IB 3218. Bearing a striking resemblance to the NAS 4220, the IB 3218 uses the same housing and drive mounting mechanism, but without the network interface. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/icybox3218 Unless you've been living under a rock for the last eight years, you've no doubt heard of OCZ. In August of 2000 they started out with a determination to manufacture the best high speed DDR available. And while they've certainly built their reputation on the performance and reliability of their memory, OCZ has branched out to provide enthusiasts with other products as well, most notably power supplies and coolers. Today I have something totally new from OCZ, the Alchemy Elixir gaming keyboard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczelixir Like most of their recent coolers, the Zalman CNPS9300AT uses a circular heatsink design, and just like previous 9000-series coolers the CNPS9300 uses an upright orientation with heatpipes connecting it to the base. CNPS stands for Computer Noise Prevention System, and Zalman uses this designation on all products designed for noiseless operation. Can an air cooler designed to be "noiseless" really provide enough cooling for modern processors? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zalman9300 EVGA is no stranger to video card enthusiasts, in fact they are celebrating their ninth anniversary this month. They have been leaders in innovation and customer service, with excellent features such as lifetime warranty, 90-day optional step-up and 24/7 tech support. Today I have for review the EVGA GTX 260 video card, one of the latest in graphic card designs. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/evgagtx260 iStar originally catered more towards IT professionals and the like, but in recent years, they have started creating products that the average consumer can use on a daily basis. Items such as ATX computer cases, hard drive coolers and external hard drive enclosures are all items now offered by iStar. Today we will be taking a look at one of iStar's new products, the T5F-SS, a mobile hard drive rack for use with any 3.5" SATA drive. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/istarhdd I don't know about you, but I have quite a bit of data that I wouldn't want others to have direct access to. Items such as e-mail archives and financial records could potentially be disastrous in the hands of someone with malicious intent. Those who carry around vital data in external enclosures are even more at risk, as this data is "out and about" quite often and subject to loss or theft. If you fit into either of these categories, SilverStone recently released an external 2.5" hard drive enclosure that uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology to encrypt the contents of the drive inside, rendering it useless without the RFID sensor key to unlock it. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ssrfid The idea behind combining multiple graphics processors to increase performance is nothing new. While you might be familiar with recent SLI and Crossfire solutions from modern-day video card manufacturers nVidia and AMD/ATI, the birth of multi-GPU 3D gaming can be traced back more than ten years ago to a company called 3dfx and their Voodoo2 graphics chipset. Today we find nVidia and AMD/ATI competing on a new graphics front, combining a hybrid mix of integrated motherboard graphics chipset commonly found in low-cost mainstream computer systems with that of a more traditional separate discrete graphics card. http://www.ocia.net/articles/hybridsli We received the silver model but a black version is also available, if that would better fit your home theater system color scheme. The 7" touchscreen immediately makes its presence known, taking up the entire center area of the front bezel. Just below the LCD screen is a spot for your optical drive. To the right, we have a bank of control buttons and a volume knob. On the left, we find a power button, HDD LED and IR sensor (more on all of these in a bit). http://www.ocia.net/reviews/moncaso972 If a computer is plugged into a wall, and nobody is there to turn it on, does it still use energy? While a more familiar question with trees begs existential consideration, the answer to my question is far simpler; it's yes. As gas prices go up and up, everyone is looking to economize and save money everywhere they can. Phantom energy, electricity drawn by devices not in use, is one target of many people's efforts. Still, a lot of us think that the minimal wattage used by an empty cell-phone charger isn't worth the hassle and that there are bigger fish to fry. The <1W pull we observe in chargers and other small appliances leads us to forget about unplugging our devices altogether, even the bigger ones. What about your computer, though? http://www.ocia.net/articles/energyuse Today we have for review one of GELID's first products ever, their thermal compound, GC-1. I've seen a lot of thermal compounds hit the market and pass it by, and often times it seems as though it will take something absolutely astonishing to overshadow the great name of Arctic Silver 5. Even though many pastes out there perform better, have better features (not electrically conductive, doesn't have a burn in period, etc.) and are cheaper than Arctic Silver 5, it seems impossible to knock it from its thrown. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/gelidgc1 We have hardcore gamer mice with plenty of customizable buttons and super-sensitive laser tracking, ergonomic mice that offer great comfort and ease of use, all-purpose mice that are suitable for most needs and even mobile mice, designed for use with your notebook while you are out of the office on business or maybe even on vacation. Logitech has mice that fall into every category mentioned, and today we will be taking a look at the VX Nano Cordless Laser Mouse for Notebooks, a portable solution that promises to pack a lot of features in a very small footprint. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vxnano Nowadays, while they have started to make some higher-end graphics cards as well (for example, a 9600GT 1GB), Diablotek still has some good mid-range offerings, like their 8600GT 1GB that we have for review today. The new trend these days seems to be to go overboard with our PC components and buy high-end everything, when all you are going to do is chat and check your email. The 8600GT is for those among us who realize that onboard video just isn't enough, but anything else wouldn't be necessary as often is the case in a HTPC. The extra 512MB of RAM over reference should give a cheap performance boost to iron out kinks, but again, nothing more than you need. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/diablotek8600gt OtterBox has been around since 1996, catering to the "klutzy, spontaneous, chaotic, graceless individuals who have broken a device or valuable due to their active lifestyle". Whether you are into hiking, biking, camping, skiing, swimming or any other outdoor activity, OtterBox likely has a product that will allow you to safely bring your electronic gadgets along for the ride. Today I will be taking a look at the OtterBox Armor Case for the iPhone, the more rugged alternative to the Defender Case that we reviewed earlier this year. Unlike the Defender series, the Armor series is fully waterproof up to 3 feet, and OtterBox even included a set of Waterproof Headphones for us to try out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/iphonearmor With the 3870s and the 4850s so closely matching in price, suddenly buying a second 3870 doesn't seem like such a good idea. You can buy a 3870 for under $140.00 and have two 3870s in Crossfire (or a 3870 and a 3850 in CrossfireX depending on what you did back in the day). Alternatively, you can sell your 3870 and probably pull in a solid $90, and then buy a 4850, netting $100 and saving yourself the electricity bill of having two cards at the same time. Naturally, we have a problem with using just one card when we could so easily have two, but it really is the performance that counts. http://www.ocia.net/articles/3870crossfire Thermalright is now set to further capitalize on the success of the Ultra-120 eXtreme with the release the TRue Black 120. While physically identical to the Ultra-120 eXtreme, other than the new black nickel finish, the TRue Black comes with another set of clips to attach a second fan in a push/pull configuration and Thermalright has thrown in a small tube of their improved thermal compound, Chill Factor 2. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/trblack120 WWAN is becoming more and more popular for business travelers and remote locations for internet connectivity. With a simple USB or PCMCIA card stuck in your laptop, you can pretty much connect from anywhere you can get cell service, and the bandwidth available on these wireless plans is about what you'd expect from an entry level DSL connection. Which means sooner or later you might think to yourself, "boy it sure would be nice to be able to share this big pipe with more users than just my laptop". http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cradlephs300 TekNmotion specializes in CD/DVD carrying cases, individual disc cases as well as sleeving for individual discs. The Pulsar SX Gaming Headset, released just two months ago, represents their introduction into the gaming market. According to their website, this headset has been in development for over two yeas and includes pretty much everything that you need in a gaming headset... except the high price. Can this newcomer really produce a quality gaming headset at a fraction of the price? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/pulsarsx Most people wouldn't expect a quad-core rig with Crossfire graphics cards to run well on 500W, but the Silencer is a testament to the fact that it can with a high quality power supply. Theoretically, at full load, this rig pulls about 400W, but very few power supplies rated below 600W could handle it. Indeed, on the topic of performance, the Silencer did a fine job, though I would have liked to see a slightly more accurate reading on the 5V line. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/pcpcsilencer500 Although Intel's Core Duo and Quad processors have pretty much taken over the top performance rung from rival manufacturer AMD, fans of the underdog company have reason to rejoice... Phenom is here. With a new 9x50 numbering scheme to represent the latest stepping, and no longer plagued by the TLB errata, AMD re-released the Phenom X4 chips to retail suppliers with 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5 Ghz operating frequencies. So if you're finally thinking about taking the K10 plunge, or you are looking to get a little more out of your Phenom processor, this guide was written with you in mind. http://www.ocia.net/articles/k10overclock The PC-A77 has some of the great features we have grown to love in Lian Li cases over the years. A removable motherboard tray, top panel, and hard-drive cage make for flexible installation. Their unique hard-drive installation system greatly reduces vibrations, and they even included a fan controller. Continue on as we check this case out in greater detail. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lianlipca77 Next to video, sound is probably one of the most important aspects of a PC. And if sound is important to you, it should be of decent quality too. Today I'll be looking at the Logitech Z Cinma Advanced Surround Sound System. Although not a true surround sound setup, which typically include six, seven or more speakers laid out in a circle around the listener, this is a 2.1 setup, with two satellite speakers comprised of dual mids and tweeters, and a single high-power subwoofer for the bass. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/logitechzcinema Today I have for review a new motherboard model from Biostar, the TF8200 A2+. This board is part of Biostar's TForce lineup, which are upscale versions of their regular motherboard series, featuring better components and more options for enthusiasts and overclockers. The TF8200 A2+ uses the GeForce 8200 design, part of nVidia's most recent release of 8000 and 700 series chipsets for AMD. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tforce8200 Kingwin has been around since 1992 and has recently started promoting their high-end Mach 1 power supplies. Last September, we had a chance to review their Mach 1 800W PSU, and today we have for review their Mach 1 1,000W PSU, the ABT-1000MA1S. With six 12V rails, four rated at 20A and two at 35A, a hefty 150mm fan, and a unique modular cabling system, this power supply has a lot of promise. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingwin1kw The team over at Kingwin recently sent word that they would like for us to check out their latest hard drive enclosure, the Elite Series. The Elite Series 3.5" SATA enclosures, built of dual process anodized aluminum, feature a one touch back up system and are USB 2.0 and eSATA compatible. How will this combination of features stack up against the heavy competition already in the marketplace? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingwinelite Today we're going to have a look at one of Sigma's newer cases, the Unicorn. The Unicorn is a standard steel mid-tower case, finished in black with red LEDs. Of course, we all want our case to turn heads in one way or another, but are we willing to sink low enough to name our case the Unicorn? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sigmaunicorn Occasionally here at OCIA.net we receive review requests from overseas companies that we've never heard of before. Such was the case with computer and home electronics manufacturer NorthQ. Based in Denmark, NorthQ offers chassis, cooling and power supply products as well as other electronics for home and car. Today I will be taking a look at their Siberian Tiger water cooling system for AMD and Intel processors. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/northqtiger NZXT has addressed these problems with their latest midtower, the Tempest. Dubbed "Airflow King", this case has a fully vented bezel, dual 120mm front intake fans, dual 140mm blowhole fans, plus 120mm window and rear fans. Sounds like plenty of ventilation, but will it sound like the next Hurricane Katrina has arrived? Read on to see! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxttempest For testing, I used two programs, HD Tach and HD Tune, to test the write and read speeds of the drive in the dock. For reference purposes, the drive used was a 3.5" Maxtor 320GB, 7200 RPM SATA Drive. During testing, I was curious to see how having USB devices plugged into the hub would affect drive performance as they share the same USB bus to the computer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/blacxse Lite-On Corporation has been in the optical drive business since 1999 and makes many of the products that OEM system builders use in their computers. But they also sell products in the consumer retail market which are typically priced in the lower end of the scale compared with some of the equivalent models from other major brands. For this reason they're a popular choice for many home builders as well. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/liteonezdub For a lot of people, an all-in-one bundle from a popular brand is just what they need; it would minimize the research work for finding quality, and it would combine soundcard and speakers/headphones to further reduce consumer work. Enter the 5H v2 USB headset from SteelSeries. This headset not only comes backed by the name that so many people trust, SteelSeries, but also comes bundled with a USB soundcard for a cheap upgrade over onboard sound. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ss5hv2usb Today I will be looking at one of OCZ's newest power supplies, the EliteXStream 800w PSU. This will be the first OCZ power supply I have reviewed here. OCZ is well known for their high-performance system memory and have been in the power supply business for a while as well. Will the EliteXStream 800 live up to the high expectations I have of OCZ products? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/elitexstream800 The MX 5500 was announced back in January at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where we brought you on-site coverage of each of their five new products. Today I will be taking a look at their latest keyboard / mouse combo and see if they have hit yet another home run in the marketplace. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mx5500 You may have seen some Eagle Tech products while shopping the online e-tailers. They certainly offer some attractive prices, especially their power supplies. But Eagle has a fairly wide selection of gear, from chassis to speakers, power supplies to external storage. Today I have for review two of their hard drive enclosures, the latest N and I series USB attached storage. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/eaglehdds As various components become more advanced, they also require more power to operate. According to Western Digital, the average 1 TB hard drive has a power consumption rating greater than 13.5 watts. Western Digital's new GreenPower drive, which we will be looking at here today, claims to shave 4-5 watts over typical drives in the same category. Any power saving is a welcomed addition, but will the drive's performance be hampered to accomplish this? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/wd1tb More and more I get people approaching me asking about cooling their rig. Sunbeamtech never really crossed my mind when people ask me. I tend to go with Thermalright, Zalman, Noctua, or Tuniq myself. After having my hands on the Core-Contact Freezer from Sunbeamtech, I might have to start adding them to the list of viable solutions to today's cooling needs. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/corefreezer Unless you're into Japanese anime, you very well might have never heard of Gundam. It didn't gain much popularity in the west until it was introduced on Cartoon Network's Toonami in 2000. But it seems that In-Win is banking on their case buyers being familiar with Gundam Wing and appreciating the similarities enough to be interested in their new case design, the Metal Suit GD. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/inwinmetal With the semi-recent arrival of DDR3 memory, OCZ has had the chance to expand on a whole new line of products. Already, they have the full series available on their website: Reaper, ReaperX, Platinum, Gold, Titanium the list goes on. Today, we have for review the 2x 1GB OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-10666 memory kit, rated at 1333MHz. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczreaper10666 The problem with all earlier forms of removable media is capacity. Even a 16 or 32 gig flash drive can be a little small for some uses, and they are pretty expensive. Think about it, you can pick up a 500 gig HDD for the price of a 16 gig thumb drive, or a 750 gig for the price of a 32 gig thumb drive. For that matter, you could get a RaptorX for the price of the 32 gig flash drive. Today, we will be taking a look at the Vantec NexStar Hard Drive Dock, an external solution for simple swapping of hard drives. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hdddock SilverStone is a company that needs no introduction. Although they have only been in business since 2003, in that time they have produced some great case designs. In the tradition of the Zeus and Olympia power supplies, with their single, large +12v rail, SilverStone now introduces the next generation of power supply built especially for enthusiasts, the Decathlon. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silverda700 For most computer savvy users, transferring data between two computers is relatively easy. If you have a network set up, you can share data between two computers. Alternatively, you can simply use a flash drive... but that might not be very efficient if you are transferring a large amount of data. But, for those users who aren't as "skilled" with computers, this can present quite a problem. I have seen countless people burn CD after CD of data to transfer to their laptop, which of course is time-consuming and wasteful. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/usbcopycable Shopping for a monitor isn't exactly straightforward, though. As if picking a size weren't hard enough, you also have to balance your standards for specifications versus price. That's too much work for a lot of people, especially after they just spent a month researching the best hardware to buy, and they stick with the well-known names like Samsung and Viewsonic. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hi221d Lian Li certainly put a lot of thought into the design of this case, even taking the time to implement the classic separate thermal zone design that is common to many full-tower and server cases. Can this case wow us like the PC-A17 did, though? Continue on as we find out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lianlipcv1110 Back in January at the 2008 CES, Logitech introduced five new products which would be released in the coming months. Among those products was the diNovo Mini Palm-sized Keyboard, which was an Honoree in the Best of Innovations at the show. The diNovo Mini looked extremely promising at the show, with its TouchPad and full QWERTY keyboard, and we have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to review it for you all. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/dinovomini Tuniq, a subsidiary of Sunbeamtech, really made their name known with their Tuniq Tower CPU air cooler. The Tuniq Tower was recognized as one of the best air coolers on the market for longer than a year. Since then, they have become increasingly popular for their cases, thermal accessories, and most recently, power supplies. One power supply that has been getting a lot of attention lately is the Tuniq Miniplant 950W which we have for review today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniqminiplant The design of the Open It! is based on diagonal cutters, better known to people not into electronics as wire cutters, wire snippers, or wire clippers. They are 8.5" from the tips of the blades to the end of the longest handle. The handles are made of high impact plastic, the darker edges are a rubberized non-slip material. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/openit Earlier this week we tested out the Stinger Gaming Mouse from Cyber Snipa. During this time we've also been using Cyber Snipa's Sonar 5.1 Headset as well. With a USB connection, eight speaker sound and adjustable boom mic, the Sonar 5.1 looks to have a lot going for it as well. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cybersonar The Cyber Snipa Stinger is a laser mouse, which provides much more precise movement than a standard LED optical mouse, and supports multiple dpi settings including a default 400/800/1600/2000 with continually adjustable sliders up to a max of 3200. With as high as 1000Hz (1ms) report rate, the Stinger gives you over 7,000 frames per second with a tracking speed of 45 inches per second. There are nine buttons with six of them being programmable using the included macro editor. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cyberstinger OCZ has never been a major player in the CPU cooling industry, but lately they have moved in strong. CES 2007 was their big opening, where they showed off preliminary models of their Cryo-Z phase change cooler, as well as some of their soon-to-be-released air coolers. A little more than a year later now, they have released four air coolers: the Vanquisher, the Vindicator, the Vendetta, which we reviewed back in November, and the Vendetta 2, which we have for review today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczvendetta2 Today I have one of Sans Digital's newer enclosures for review, the MobileSTOR MS2UTN+. Utilizing the SIL 5744 chipset, the MobileSTOR offers the typical dual drive configurations such as JBOD, Spanning (BIG), RAID0 and RAID1, but also something I haven't seen before, SAFE33 and SAFE50. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sansdigmstor The size of the CG6 is perfect. It is small enough to fit into a purse or pocket, yet large enough that you don't feel like you are going to break or drop it during use. The camera uses a pistol-grip style which works perfectly for both left and right-handed users. The fact that the camera is so small also means it is extremely lightweight. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xacticg6 Thermaltake has now carried that same patented design over into the processor realm with its DuOrb CPU Cooler. Utilizing twin 80mm fans just as the VGA Cooler did, this time surrounded by six copper heatpipes rather than two, and both an inner aluminum fin and outer copper fin configuration, the DuOrb CPU Cooler takes advantage of the wide wingspan of the DuOrb design to cool not only the processor but also the memory and surrounding socket area. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttduorb Thermaltake is one company that is hard to stay on top of. In the M9 case review last month, I mentioned how it seems like there is always something new coming from those folks. Well here to prove me right is the latest offering in the Xaser class full tower, the VI VG4000 series. Thermaltake calls the Xaser VI a Super Tower, and if the box is any indication of its size, I'd say they're right. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttxaservi Today we will be taking a look at a "dedicated" desktop stand from LapWorks, the Attache Desktop Stand. The Attache picks up where the Futura left off in terms of desktop stands, adding several features that should greatly improve usage in this configuration. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/attache It was a little over a month ago that I had a chance to review another Cooler Master case, the Cosmos S. While the Cosmos is certainly a supurb case, a veritable heavyweight contender, not everyone may have the space (or the pocketbook) for an enclosure like that. This month Cooler Master has sent us something scaled down a bit, but equally as impressive looking, the Centurion 590. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmcenturion590 Back in February I had the opportunity to take a look at the OnAir GT USB HDTV Tuner from AutumnWave. The portable OnAir GT, their flagship product, allows you to watch both Analog and HDTV on your computer anywhere there is a signal (over-the-air or direct cable connection). While the OnAir GT did well in our testing (enough to earn our Seal of Approval), there were a few drawbacks that I found. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/onaircreator In the previous Razer review, we took a look (and listen) at the new Piranha gaming communicator. The second item they sent over for review is their Destructor gaming mat. More than just your average mouse pad, Razer says their Destructor mat has a proprietary gunmetal coating which yields a highly reactive surface. The result is superior tactility, improved responsiveness and enhanced tracking. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razerdestructor Recently Razer sent over two of their latest products for review, and the first one I'll be taking a look at today is the Piranha Gaming Communicator. Razer touts the Piranha as having true to life audio quality with superior clarity and bass, a noise-filtering microphone and ergonomic and adjustable earphones. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razerpiranha Regarding the actual paint job, since each CSX case is air-brushed by hand by a different artist, there are no two cases in the world that are 100% identical. If you are the type that likes a truly unique product, you will certainly find that here. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/csxwraith One of my all-time favorite cases has been the X-Jupiter tower, one that until just recently I had been using as my primary enclosure. Today I'll be taking a look at the new X-QBOII, a micro-tower case that appears to be sort of a scaled-down version of the X-Supra mid-tower, also recently reviewed here at OCIA.net. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apeviaxqboii Wouldn't it be cool to be able to build your own cable? A modular-designed power cable, that allows you to use only the connectors you need, in the order that you need them? Nesteq has answered that call with their ECS series of power supplies. Today we will be looking at the Nesteq ECS 7001, a modular 700 watter that allows you to do just this. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nesteq7001 Today I have for review one of Silverstone's newer HTPC series of cases, the Grandia GD02. If you liked the style of the full-size GD01 but were just looking for something a bit smaller, the GD02 might be right up your alley. It's a micro-ATX size case, and like most HTPC enclosures it is designed to blend right into the other devices in your entertainment center, with a brushed aluminum finish on the front, available in either black or silver. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ssgd02 When it comes to saving money, I am all ears. Throw in some environmental benefits and you are well on your way to a great product. Today I will be taking a look at a product that incorporates both of these features into a single device, the Solio H1000 Universal Hybrid Charger. This portable battery charger draws it energy directly from the sun, thanks to an integrated solar panel and stores this power for up to a full year using an internal 1000mAh lithium ion battery. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/solio1000 There are a number of devices Thermaltake offers that you might not be aware of. For example, last month we reviewed a unique data retrieval product from them, the BlacX hard drive dock, which allows users to easily hot-swap SATA drives from a convenient desktop base unit. Today I have another of Thermaltake's newer storage solutions for review, the Muse R-Duo RAID. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttmuseduo The Real Power Pro 1250 is one of 10 power supplies receiving nVidia's highest SLI rating, for three 8800 Ultras or 8800 GTXs. It also has an 80Plus certification, certified to maintain more than 80% efficiency. Actually, this power supply is rated up to 87% efficiency. What does that mean? A more efficient power supply uses less wall current than a less efficient one, which means less dollars out of your pocket. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/coolermaster1250 Today I have for review an Icy Box multi-drive NAS device, the IB-NAS4220-B. NAS is short for Network Attached Storage, and unlike a typical external hard drive enclosure which must be connected directly to a host computer in order to access, a NAS device uses a network client to allow access across a shared medium, like Ethernet. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/icybox4220 Since the merger of Sunbeamtech and Tuniq, we have seen many of their products share cross-company styling cues and design features. Sometimes it is difficult to say exactly which company is responsible for what. Take for example the patented Core Fan idea we first saw implemented on our Sunbeamtech Quarterback case review. Now we find that same technology applied to the third case design to come from the folks over at Tuniq, named simply "3". http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniq3 Today I will be looking at the Apollo Aposonic Radeon HD 3850 512MB. It is a mid-range DX10 card, Crossfire ready, sitting in the notch between the geForce 8600GTS and the 8800GT. Will the HD 3850 make me turn my back on nVidia? Read on and see. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apollo3850 The material inside is sodium sulfate decahydrate, Na2SO410H2O, also known as Glauber's salt. This material changes phases (from solid to liquid) at 32 C (90 F), which makes this product excellent at storing heat and is commonly used to store thermal energy for solar heating systems. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ixoft Anticipating these delays, Art. Lebedev was successfully able to release another product based on the same OLED technology, the Optimus Mini Three. The Mini Three is billed as the world's first keyboard with OLED screens... although I wouldn't quite call it a "keyboard". The phrase "auxiliary keyboard-informer" used on Art. Lebedev's website is a much better description of its actual function. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/minithree The wireless IR remote control has 10 buttons to fully control speaker functions as well as basic iPod functions, so you can change tracks from the remote without having to actually touch the iPod. This of course only works with iPods plugged into the dock and will not work with other MP3 players that are connected via the line-in jack. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/stereoorb Today I'll be looking at the recently released M9 series mid-tower case. There are two versions available, the VI1000BWS with side panel window and the VI1000BNS non-windowed case, which is the one I received for review. Measuring 17" tall by 8" wide and almost 20" deep, this black-only steel mid-tower offers the typical micro and standard ATX size in a compact frame. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttm9 Now, with the main site set, we focused our attention to the forums. We switched to a new forum software and also totally reworked the layout to better match the main page. So now, it's time to celebrate, and what better way to do that than to give away a ton of free stuff to you, our readers?!! We have teamed up with several of our sponsors and put together a prize package worth over $1,300 !! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/forumcontest The case is aluminum, in a very shiny gunmetal color, that Apevia calls titanium. The spec label is on top of the case, and won't be visible when the PSU is installed. I've seen a lot of complaints about the specs label being on the visible side of a PSU, hiding the finish, so those people should be happy with this one. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/warlock750 Protecting our investments is a top priority for most people. This is why we have insurance on many of the expensive / priceless things in life, such as our cars, homes and even our lives. Unfortunately, when it comes to the iPhone, Apple / AT&T see things differently and thus, customers are not given the option to insure their phone against accidental damage. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultraclear The box the H2gO came shipped in certainly didn't match the typical computer case shipping container; a plain brown cube with no exterior markings to indicate what's inside. I always liked this about one other manufacturer, Thermalright, who for years has used plain brown boxes to pack their products in. I think it says something about the company, something to the effect of... we'd rather spend our money on making you a great product than flashy advertising on the box it comes in. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mtnmodsh2go In terms of aesthetics, the Lycosa is certainly an attention-grabber. The top surface has a sleek, glossy finish, almost like a piano. The buttons are finished with a non-slip, rubber finish that contrasts the glossy surface really well. The wrist rest appears to be regular black plastic, with the Razer logo in the center. I really like how the keys aren't fully visible when the back light is off, producing a nice stealth effect. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lycosa Today I'm taking a closer look at the Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W, which is a non-modular power supply with a 750W continuous load rating. Like all of the Real Power Pro line, the 750W carries a five year warranty, has an 80-plus efficiency certification and is SLI-ready with dual 6 and 8-pin PCIe configurations. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmpowerpro750 Included in the retail package is the charger itself, a spare battery container, USB cable and an instruction manual. The iPod / iPhone kit was packaged separately and simply consists of a retractable cable with a USB port on one end and an iPod / iPhone port on the other end. The cable extends and has a locking mechanism, so you can pull the cable to the desired length without it winding back up. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/aaausb There are so many thumb drives out there, some fast and some slow, some high capacity and some smaller than a quarter, that it's really easy to brush them aside and think that those differences don't really matter. OCZ wants to discourage this kind of a mentality and it shows from their diverse lineup of USB flash drives, from durable to speedy to high capacity. Today we're going to have a look at the OCZ Rally2 Turbo 8GB USB flash drive, which promises to provide impressive speeds (up to 35MB/s read) while maintaining high capacity (available in 4GB and 8GB modules). http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczrally2turbo You may remember during our CES 2008 coverage we highlighted a product from Yoggie Security Systems called the Gatekeeper Pico. The product was named "Best of Innovations 2008 - Computer Accessories" at the Consumer Electronics Show and Yoggie Security Systems has sent over a demo of the Gatekeeper Pico for our review. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/yoggiepico The Sphere is an all-copper, quad heatpipe and fin CPU cooler shaped like, you guessed it, a ball. It comes with a single-speed radial fan built in, instead of the typical axial fan you find on most CPU coolers. The radial output of the fan helps to cool other components in the immediate vicinity of the CPU socket. This combination of round-shaped fins and radial output fan put the sphere into a fairly unique class of cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmsphere The team at OCZ are among those manufacturers. The past couple of months have seen OCZ release several new DDR2 memory kits, this one, which is a 4 gig version of their popular PC2-8000 5-5-5 Platinum Edition. Will we get the performance from this Platinum Edition memory that we have come to expect from OCZ? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/pc2_8000platinum Lian Li is a name synonymous with quality in the case market. Almost every year, they release new chassis, all improvements upon the last in their line. Naturally, when LanCool PC (a subsidiary of Lian Li) said that they wanted to send over a Lian Li case, I was pretty excited to check it out. Today's review sample, the PC-A17, may have a familiar sounding name: it's the next generation PC-A16 case, and they're about as similar as their names are. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/lianlipca17 Right on the heels of our Cosmos 1000 case review comes the totally revamped Cosmos S from Cooler Master. Although the Cosmos is really a nice case, there are a handful of things that could be done to make it better. We'll be taking a close look at the new Cosmos S today to find out if Cooler Master has made this latest version better than the last. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cosmoss The Vice President of Business at Aeneon said that the, "new XTUNE DDR3 memory series will leverage the enthusiasts' performance experience and demonstrate the DDR3 main advantages as one of the first products in the market: offering high-speed computing as well as limiting power." Rated at 1.5V, these modules certainly run at lower energy consumption than recent DDR2 modules that have been released at 2.0V stock, but as one of the first kits on the market, can it provide the performance we're hoping for? Continue on as we find out http://www.ocia.net/reviews/aeneonddr3 While the relatively new line of Extreme Edition memory products by A-Data still carry the Vitesta model name, the EE modules offer very aggressive timings, more comparable to other manufacturers of high-end performance memory. It is one of these sets of memory sticks I will be taking a look at today, the ADQVD1A16K 2x1GB PC2 6400 Extreme Edition DDR2-800+ Dual Channel Memory Kit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/adata800ee Today we will be looking at an iPhone case from iSkin, the revo and revoClip. The revo offers users a nice mix of standard features, such as all-around surface protection with a durable silicone exterior, but also brings to the table a few innovative features that we haven't seen on other cases, like the embedded anti-microbial protection and privacy film. With features like this, the iSkin revo is sure to attract some attention, but is it really worth your hard-earned money? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/revo Today we're going to have a look at Razer's most recent mouse, the Lachesis. Weighing in at 4000dpi with a 1000MHz polling rate, this mouse is sure to be an absolute beast. But, does a 4000dpi sensor provide noticeable improvement, and will Razer stay true to their well-earned reputation? Read on as we find out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razerlachesis My point being, if you are still using an ancient CRT monitor, you owe it to yourself and your desk to upgrade to a slim LCD and there is no better time than the present. Today we will be looking at a "budget" 19" widescreen LCD monitor, the Black X2gen VGA/DVI TFT LCD Monitor w/Speakers, to see if it is worth the relatively low asking price. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/x2gen19in The Rosewill RX353-S BLK is a SATA drive enclosure that offers both USB 2.0 and the latest eSATA interfaces. The aluminum case accepts any single 3" SATA drive, either SATA150 or 300, with support for NCQ and up to 1TB of capacity. With the USB 2.0 connection, transfer rates of up to 60MB/s are possible and 300MB/s with eSATA, depending on the drive used. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rosehddenc2 I've used more than a few Thermaltake CPU coolers over the years; no surprise considering they've been in business since 1999. Today I'll be taking a look at another of their latest products, the Max Orb. Following the progression of orb coolers, from the Golden Orb II through the Blue Orb and Ruby Orb, the Max Orb represents yet another level of advancement in design for Thermaltake. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttmaxorb Super Talent is a company most commonly known for their contributions to the memory market. Unbeknownst to most consumers, however, they also manufacture a variety of solid state memory, power supplies, and digital music players. Today we're going to have a look at one of Super Talent's less main stream products, the Vidego touch-screen digital music player. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/supertalentvidego Apevia has a lot of cases. A quick look at a popular online retailer shows 127 listings at the time of this writing. Most of these are economy-priced premodded mid-towers, in many different colors, some with a power supply, some without. This will be the fourth Apevia/Aspire case I have owned, and I have liked each of them. For someone wanting a decent lower-priced premodded case, you can't go wrong with one from Apevia. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xsupra If only there was a portable power source specifically for the iPhone user... which is where today's product comes into play, the iPhone Portable Power Station. The iPhone Portable Power Station is a phone case and external power source in one, boasting some pretty neat features on top of all of this. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/iphonepps Thermaltake introduces their newest lineup of power supplies, the Toughpower QFan series. If you haven't guessed, the Q in QFan stands for Quiet, as Thermaltake advertises an ultra-low 17dBA noise rating at up to 50% load. There are two models available, the 650w and a 500w version. Today I'll be taking a closer look at the 650 model. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttqfan650 Thermaltake took note of this and created a product that really stood out at the show, a hard drive docking station known as the BlacX. The idea behind this product is so simple and yet, so ingenious that I am shocked that nobody else has thought of it yet. Simply put, the BlacX is a USB 2.0 hot-swappable 2.5" and 3.5" SATA docking station that accepts all hard drives up to 1TB in size. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/blacx The AutumnWave OnAir GT USB HDTV Tuner is a portable TV Tuner solution designed for use primarily with your laptop, allowing you to pick up both HD and analog signals and watch them wherever you may be (granted you are able to receive a strong enough signal). http://www.ocia.net/reviews/onairgt This isn't something you'd expect to see under the notebook of some guy in a dress shirt and tie sitting next to you on a plane, or of someone in a business suit at Starbucks. More likely, you'd see this under an Alienware gaming laptop at a LAN party. I have no problem believing this is something from NZXT. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/Cryolx Naturally, Cooler Master is a company focused on cooling performance in their products. Last October I reviewed their most recent budget case, the CM690, which had all of the right features for the overclocker in all of us with expandability for many fans. Today, we're going to have a look at their latest high-end case, the Cosmos 1000. This case, however, has a slightly different focus than most CM products: silence. Priced at nearly $200USD, it's sure to be a crowd-pleaser, but can Cooler Master keep true to their name while dampening noise? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmcosmos1000 The Futura provides a simple solution to the problems of using a notebook in your lap. No power necessary, no moving parts and it fits in your notebook carrying case or backpack. It weighs just a hair over one pound. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/futura OtterBox must have heard similar reactions from others, as they now have two distinct lines of cases for your valued electronics: The Armor Series, which is rugged to the extreme, and the Defender Series, labeled as "semi-rugged". Today we will be looking at the latter, in the OtterBox for iPhone Defender Series. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/iphoneotterbox Swiftech has been around since 1994 and is perhaps best known for their thermoelectric and liquid cooling solutions that first gained popularity in late 2000 / early 2001. Recently I had the opportunity to test out one of their latest water-cooling kits, the H2O-220 Compact. I know some of you are probably thinking, "oh no, not a water-cooling kit... http://www.ocia.net/reviews/swiftech220 Kingwin is one of those companies that many enthusiasts often overlook. The name has not previously been associated with higher quality and performance hardware, but lately they have really stood out with their upper-end SLI certified PSUs, high-tech CPU coolers and very attractive HDD enclosures. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rvt12025 This will be my third Apevia/Aspire case. Besides the X-Dreamer II, which I used for the better part of a year, I had an X-Plorer that I used for at least a year, a long time for someone who gets as many cases as I do. So I am familiar with Apevia cases, and expect the X-Telstar to be a mid-priced, fairly well built and finished, pre-modded case with a few interesting features. Read on to see if it meets my expectations. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xtelstar GPU computing is something we were not familiar with, but as Chris explained, the key behind GPU computing is utilizing the stream processors on NVIDIA graphics cards. These stream processors can provide anywhere from 10x to 100x speedups in your algorithms over conventional CPU cores. According to Tycrid, a single Titan workstation can replace over 50 dual quad-core workstations! http://www.ocia.net/articles/tycrid The North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center is home to mobile audio, navigation and other vehicle accessories, and is a great place to see some really cool rides. But, being the car enthusiasts that we are, we took things a few steps further and also visited the Imperial Palace Auto Collection AND Exotic Cars at Caesars Palace. Odds are, you won't find all of these cars in any other CES coverage. So, sit back, and enjoy the ride - we sure did! http://www.ocia.net/articles/cescars Jook, a subsidiary of Razer, is a wireless technology standard that allows any portable music player to act like a personal radio station. Basically, Jook wirelessly broadcasts songs to people in the immediate vicinity. Think of Jook as "social networking meets music". With the success of social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook, it only makes sense to expand on this growing market. http://www.ocia.net/articles/jook This year's Mako is slightly different in looks and functionality from what we saw last year. The new satellite speakers are now more of a flat black instead of the chrome-ish finish we saw last year. Another neat feature on the Mako is the use of Cat 5 cable instead of the traditional audio cables. http://www.ocia.net/articles/ces11 Despite being named the Silencer Quad, this PSU uses just a single beefy 12V rail, running 60 amps! Seeing specs like those just makes you want to drool. High efficiency, just one silent fan, and single rail design, all of this is amazing but is it too good to be true? Continue on as we find out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/pcpcsilencer750 Cooler Master also had their line of custom computer case art at their booth, CSX. Cooler Master has teamed up with Smooth Creations to provide these hand-painted, limited edition chassis in many unique designs. I was totally blown away by the quality and detail of these paint jobs. The CSX cases have, by far, the best paint job that I have ever seen on a computer case. Expect to drop off $1200 - $1500 for a custom-designed CSX chassis. http://www.ocia.net/articles/zaletcc And since there are still uses for it, the memory guys are still designing and building new DDR2 memory modules, treating us to lower latencies and higher frequencies than previously availableat ridiculously low prices. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/reaperxd800 Today, Thermaltake offers nearly every accessory you can imagine: PC cases, air and water cooling solutions, power supplies, external hard drive storage, etc. We stopped by Thermaltake's booth in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center to see what they have in store for the coming year. http://www.ocia.net/articles/ttake You saw it in "Live Free or Die Hard," and you liked it. Don't lie, I know you did. The kid was a nerd, the movie had no plot, and they used acrylic PC cases it's embarrassing I know. But you liked the keyboard. What's not to love about a waterproof, folding keyboard right before a great fight scene? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/atkeyboard Besides being able to check out all of the latest in tech gear, CES is a great place to network, and what better setting to do that than a party? This year, there were over 50 parties going on during CES. It is impossible to attend them all, because many take place at the same time... http://www.ocia.net/articles/parties Yoggie Security Systems is the developer of the world's first hardware-based computer security solution. The whole goal behind Yoggie is to eliminate software-based security solutions and move those off of your computer. Doing so, according to Yoggie, has several advantages. http://www.ocia.net/articles/yoggie With all of this ballyhoo about HD-DVD-this and Blu-Ray-that, it's easy to forget that regular old DVDs and even our old faithful CDs are still quite posh. Not only is your box nearly unusable without some sort of compact disc reader for software, but most forms of entertainment such as movies and music still sells predominantly on these "old" formats of DVD and CD. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/liteondvdrw Logitech released five new or improved products at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. The five products that were unveiled: Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote, diNovo Mini Keyboard, Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System, Squeezebox Duet Network Music System and the Cordless Desktop MX 5500 Revolution. http://www.ocia.net/articles/logitech We stopped by the Art Lebedev Studio booth in the Sands convention center on Tuesday. You may already be familiar with the name Art Lebedev: these are the guys responsible for the Optimus Maximus keyboard, which has been a very hot product this past year. http://www.ocia.net/articles/cesd We scheduled a meeting with Arctic Cooling to check out their new lineup for 2008. Arctic Cooling specializes in making silent, high performance cooling solutions such as heatsinks, fans, VGA coolers and even power supplies. http://www.ocia.net/articles/cesacg The AEE is the largest event for the adult industry worldwide. Think of it as the CES of the adult entertainment industry: manufacturers, distributors, retailers and adult stars all converge here to do business. The one difference between CES and AEE is that the AEE is open to fans on specified days. http://www.ocia.net/articles/aee With drives as large as 1TB (that's a terabyte, you know 1024GB) available in mainstream technology, the once considered monstrous 500 giggers now seem like pocket change and are the budget user's choice buy. Today we're going to have a look at Western Digital's 500GB Caviar SE16 (WD5000AAKS) drive, one of the most popular drive for system builders lately. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/wdcaviar500 Something a bit more interesting is the new Flex2 DDR3 modules. These heatspreaders feature a new fin design that is more efficient when being used as a passive cooling solution. If you want to ramp things up with liquid cooling, each side of the Flex2 has an inlet and outlet, allowing you to fully cool each side of the module with fresh coolant. http://www.ocia.net/articles/oczces2k8 You just upgraded your PC, you got the latest motherboard and processor, several gigs of fast memory and a high-end video card so you can play that cool new game that just came out. You put the system together and get your OS loaded, only to see a warning that your video card performance will be degraded because it isn't getting enough power. Doh! You forgot to consider a power supply as part of your upgrade. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sirtec400vga This year Data Drive Thru unveiled the iTornado, a device that simplifies and expedites the computer-to-computer file transfer process. Housing two retractable USB cords and a microcomputer within its spiral casing, the iTornado has the ability to transfer documents, pictures, and music instantaneously without the need to clutter both computers with software. http://www.ocia.net/articles/taganddt Thermalright has combined the wrap-around design of the original V1 cooler with their through-hole technology from the HR series and produced the HR-03 VGA cooler. There are several versions of this cooler, the HR-03 GT represents the latest edition, compatible with the newest nVidia G92 (8800 GT/GTS) and ATI RV670 (HD38x0) cards. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hr03gt The 2008 CES officially kicked off today as the show floors were opened to industry affiliates and media earlier this morning. Normally we would wait until the end of the week to publish our CES "Booth Babes", but let's face it, everyone loves booth babes, so if we don't have to wait, why should you? http://www.ocia.net/articles/boothbabes After brief opening remarks by Gary Shapiro, the President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, Bill Gates was welcomed on to the stage. Gates started his speech off by announcing that he will no longer be working at Microsoft full-time but will remain the Board Chairman. http://www.ocia.net/articles/gateskeynote The 2008 Consumer Electronics Show doesn't officially start until Monday, but if you are a member of the press, you are invited to get a sneak peek at the latest technology at CES Unveiled. CES Unveiled took place Saturday from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the Marco Polo Ballroom at the Venetian Hotel. http://www.ocia.net/articles/unveiled Today I'm reviewing the Thermaltake Toughpower 850W Power Supply. Thermaltake is a name often associated with quality in any of their products, from cases and case fans to coolers and power supplies. This particular power supply boasts a variety of features, but at a price: it costs almost $260 at a popular online reseller. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/thermaltaketough850 SilverStone Technology Inc. has only been doing business in the USA since 2003. In that relatively short amount of time they have expanded their product line to include computer cases, power supplies, processor and liquid cooling systems, external storage and audio devices, fans and other related case accessories. Their power supplies were one of the first to receive nVidia SLI certification and the company has achieved ISO 9001:2000 certification for quality and customer service. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silverkl02 Last month I did a thermal compound review where I pitted the venerable Arctic Silver 5 against the latest stuff from Tuniq, the TX-2. Well here we are, almost exactly one month later, and we have a new contender in the arena, the OCZ Freeze. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczfreeze For several months, the only aftermarket VGA cooler that I could find for my 8800GTX was the Thermalright HR-03 Plus. I reviewed this cooler back in April, and while it did offer excellent performance, it sacrificed precious expansion slots to accomplish this. Fast-forward eight months to present day and we have another new VGA cooler to test with the 8800GTX, the Thermaltake DuOrb VGA Cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/duorb For those of you familiar with shopping at New Egg you've undoubtedly heard of Rosewill. There are literally hundreds of products sold through the Egg under the Rosewill brand and compared to pricing on some of the name brand products, the Rosewill gear is usually quite inexpensive. But do these house brands have the same quality as traditional 3rd party manufacturers? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rosehddenc I mean, what is a power supply? A rectangular box with electrical stuff in it and wires coming from it (I do understand what the stuff inside does, but I know that most don't). The box may be steel or aluminum; painted, plated, or anodized. The wires may be sleeved or not, modular or not. There will be a fan or two, they may have LEDs, or not. I guess that's why I found it rather refreshing to review the Sigma Shark. No, it isn't some kind of radical departure from the basic power supply, but it is a little different. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sigma635 I looked at the little 1.5" intake hole, then looked at the bed, the carpet, the dining table (which has a tablecloth with some brocading on it), the sofa, all over the house. I found very few spots that I might use it without some kind of interference with the fan intake. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nbcool Today's review sample is the Aztec ATX case, Raidmax' latest attempt to please the gaming market with their "Elite" line of cases. With various options for cooling, some intense LED lights and a removable motherboard tray, this monster of a case looks like a promising product. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/raidmaxaztec While doing some online shopping recently I decided to look into how I might possibly improve my mousing experience, and the Pro Mousepad and Mad Dotz from XTracPads caught my eye. To be honest, the Mad Dotz were the only aftermarket stick-on mouse feet/pads I saw at this particular site, and the Pro was the cheapest gaming mousepad that didn't have pictures of dogs or WoW characters printed on it. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xtracpads Seems like there's always something new coming from the folks over at Thermaltake. It's no wonder, with an ever-expanding product line that now includes air and liquid cooling, computer cases, power supplies, external storage enclosures and fans and other case accessories. Today I'll be taking a look at the LANbox, a small form factor, portable "cube" case from their desktop series. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttlanbox The government of the United States of America has a message for you: "All your TV are belong to us". Ok, well maybe the US government didn't say that but they have said that all full-power television stations will no longer be able to broadcast their signal on analog channels come February 17, 2009. http://www.ocia.net/articles/dtv2009 The Ultra Power Partner is a 325 watt auxiliary power supply that fits into an optical drive bay. It works in addition to your current PSU, for example, if you have a 500 watt power supply, install the Power Partner, and now you have 825 watts, plenty enough extra juice to power that pair of 8800GTs. Is the Power Partner the answer to your power problems? Read on. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/powerpartner Personally, I very much appreciate a keyboard with a nice-feeling touch, as I spend as much time typing as I do most anything else. I really can't describe the feel I like, but I know it when I feel it. Soft, but with a distinct "snap" when a key is pressed. My current keyboard feels ok, but not great. So will the Logisys Ultra Slim Soft Touch Keyboard meet my requirements? Let's see. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultraslimkeyboard Often times, in the hype of building up a great new rig with all of the hottest new components, we forget that, beyond calculating pi and folding protein molecules, the computer experience comes entirely from peripherals. Almost nobody includes keyboards, speakers, or even monitors in their budget. In reality, though, a nice new monitor can make your old rig feel new again. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/soyo2058 With the latest designs, many motherboard manufacturers have started producing boards with chipset/mosfet heatsinks onboard, linked together with heatpipes. The HR-09 mosfet cooler was designed for those users with motherboards that either have an ineffective stock chipset/mosfet cooling system, or that don't have one at all. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/trhr-09 OCZ's Titanium modules fall somewhere between the Platinum line and their high-end Reaper series. Although these aren't the PC2-8000 Alpha VX2 model, which stands at the top of the Titanium lineup, they bear the latest CL3 tag. Yes, that's right, they're rated for an ultra-low CAS3 at PC2-6400 speeds. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ocztitanium NZXT has sent over one of their latest cases, the Rogue. Although they list it with their Crafted series, the smooth clean lines of this SFF case I feel more appropriately fits the Classic series. But the Rogue doesn't exactly match either of their two categories, most of which are populated by mid-tower designs. As this is targeted as a SFF LAN gaming case, a first for NZXT, this really comes as no surprise. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtrogue All thermal paste is relatively the same, and as long as you use something between your processor and heatsink (besides a thermal pad) you're good. Or is it? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniqtx2 As I mentioned earlier, the base is designed so that the three heatpipes will directly touch the CPU's heatspreader. I'm not a thermal engineer, but I do realize that there is some efficiency loss when transferring heat from one substrate to another, such as from the heatsink base to the heatpipes contained within. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/Vendetta Internal liquid cooling system components are usually separate pieces, which do require a little extra space in your case, something mid-tower owners may not be able to afford. It also adds complexity and additional time to the installation when the end user has to put everything together themselves. But Thermaltake now has a solution for both problems, the Bigwater 760i. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttbw760i For those of you who are concerned with the longevity of your data, though, there are plenty of low-quality, rackety hard drive coolers out there. I don't know about you, but I know I don't want any more noise coming out of my box. Ultra Products proposes to solve those problems of hard drive heat and noise with their aptly named Aluminum Hard Drive Cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultrahddcooler The Thermaltake V1 is a copper base, copper heatpipe/fin CPU cooler compatible with Intel LGA775 and AMD 754/939/AM2 sockets. It has a strange sort of "flower" fin design that resembles something that could have come from the folks over at Zalman. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ttv1 But, like many other "base" products... take the ATX computer case as a good example, there are so many different creative spins being implemented that it keeps things fresh. Today we will be taking a look at the latest external 3.5" hard drive enclosure from Kingwin in the Z1 Series 3.5" External Hard Drive Enclosure. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/z1hdd Are you tired of boring traditional computer impressions and long to experience the excitement of revolutionary hardware design? We thought so. In that case be sure to check out the latest, er... case, from Sunbeamtech... the Quarterback. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/sbqb Thermalright combines the best of their blow-down coolers with the unique design of the high-riser series to bring us the SI-128 SE. Instead of "Second Edition" as you might think, the S in SE is for Silent, something their HR line of coolers was quite good at. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/si128se Following the release last month of their 5610 series of 80mm upright coolers, GlacialTech announces their latest 92mm 5710 Silent and PWM designs. If you're thinking to yourself, "Glacial-who?" then you should definitely sit up and pay attention, we're about to blow your socks off. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/glacialtech5710 The major selling points of the CNPS8700 NT are its noise levels and its size, making it the ultimate HTPC companion. With these two features at Zalman's focus, will the performance take a hit or stay true to the Zalman name? Continue as we find out http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cnps8700nt Ultra sent over four components from their Stackables line: Stackables 180-Watt Multi-Outlet Power Center, Stackables All-In-1 Card Reader & USB 2.0 Hub, Stackables 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Enclosure and the Stackables 3.5" IDE Hard Drive Enclosure. I will take a look at each product in detail throughout this review. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/stackables There are four PCI-E cables to accommodate a pair of 8800GTXs in SLI. Each cable is marked according to its rail, +12v1 and +12v2. This is quite cool, to ensure that each card will be on its own +12v rail. I personally have not seen a PSU labeled like this, though I'm sure there could be others out there. This is the kind of attention to detail I am talking about. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rosewillrs850 I've said it before, and I'll say it again: digital media has taken the world by storm! Whether it's television, cell phones, cameras, etc., nearly everything we have grown to love is moving (or already has moved) to a digital format. Every day we see something old spring back to life with a digital twist. Today we will be taking a look at one such item, in the 10.4" TFT LCD Digital Photo Frame. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/dframe Geeks has provided us with many random computer gadgets in the past, and this product is right up their alley. Most people may not consider a wireless thermometer as a computer tool, but if you think about it, this fits perfectly into your geek toolbox. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/irthermometer Once again, Zalman has created an excellent product that does exactly what it is supposed to do and more. The VF-1000LED is a video card cooler that provides excellent cooling in silence. It is quite beautiful, if you like copper, with its large expanse of fins and heatpipes. At fan levels low enough to be inaudible, it dropped my load temps more than 30C under the stock cooler. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vf1000 Mobile phone and PDA manufacturers have integrated Bluetooth into many of their handsets, which allow us to use wireless headsets and connect our electronics to computers and other devices to share pictures, music, etc. Today we will be taking a look at a modern Bluetooth product in the Cirago Micro Bluetooth USB Adapter. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ciragobt There are times I'd like to be able to turn the fans up to the max for short periods of time, like when overclocking. And to be honest, there are times I miss the look of those analog knobs on the front of my rig. Call me old skool, call me old man, I'm sorry, I like dials and knobs. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mfc2 NZXT's company objective is to "provide every gamer with a case that they can identify with." To this end NZXT offers two types of case designs, the more conservative "Classic" series, and the contemporary "Crafted" line. Today we look at the Alpha, one in the former category of case offerings from NZXT. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtalpha Designated the m998 in recognition of the HMMWV "Humvee", Ultra compares its latest case offering to the ruggedness and versatility of the popular military vehicle. Can this aluminum mid-tower design really live up to its appointed name? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultram998 There is another piece to the puzzle that many gamers totally overlook and skimp on: audio. A decent 2.1 system is more than enough to get you by, but if you really want to hear the game as it was intended to be heard, surround sound is a must. Surround sound totally immerses you in the game you are playing and gives you a true advantage over someone using headphones or 2.1 audio. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/g51 I had pretty much settled on this cluttered system... that is, until I came across the Ultra Products 7 Port USB Buddy Hub. This USB hub seemed to be the answer to all of my problems and would leave me with a much cleaner workstation. I contacted Ultra Products and a few weeks later, the Buddy Hub arrived for testing. Will this hub really solve all of my problems? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/buddyhub Clocking in at 700Mhz core and 1050Mhz memory, the NX8600GTS OC sports a 25/50Mhz increase over the standard nVidia reference set. The cooler is an upgraded design to MSI's "regular" NX8600GTS as well. When they're offering the OC version for the same price as the non-OC, who wouldn't go for that? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nx8600gtsoc This will be the third video card that I have reviewed from Geeks.com that was built by a company that I haven't heard of, or that I wouldn't normally consider when purchasing computer hardware. I guess that I, being a fairly typical humanoid, am somewhat afraid of the unknown, and that especially goes for computer hardware. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/8600gts Cases are kind of an anomaly in the world of computer hardware. Some people won't pay more than $50 for a case because, all in all, it's just a metal box. Others pay $300+ for thorough cooling solutions, complete PC silence, or professional aluminum styling. There is yet another group, though: those who want flashy, bright, "gaming" cases, that look cool regardless of performance or noise. The various aspects and features of the case one chooses arguably tell a lot about their priorities and personality. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cm690 Along with the release of the mid-tower X-Jupiter Jr. comes the full tower aluminum X-Jupiter chassis. With more fans, more space and less weight it's like the little Junior grew up... and went on a diet. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xjupitertower Marking the 3rd generation of Ultra's popular X-Connect line of power supplies, the latest X3 series combines all the great features of previous models, such as fully modular design and FlexForce cables, with high power outputs to satisfy the demands of today's multi-core CPU/GPU systems. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultrax3800 Several things instantly stand out on the specs list, most notably the fact that you can install a standard ATX system in this case. Many HTPC cases restrict you to Micro-ATX only systems, which really limits the type of hardware that you can use. A 7" LCD touchscreen is something you certainly don't see on most HTPC cases. The chassis appears to have good cooling also, with four pre-installed 80mm fans. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/moncaso932p The idea of exposed heatpipes makes sense. Besides the transferal of heat between the heatsink and heatpipes, the heatsink itself can be made of aluminumallowing lower manufacturing cost, and less weight. We'll see just how well this new idea works. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/rvt-9225 Following closely on the heels of the full-size X-Jupiter tower comes the mid-tower X-Jupiter Junior from Apevia. Looking very much like its larger sibling, the X-Jupiter Jr. is available in four colors and two side panel configurations, giving buyers a total of eight different choices in case design. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apeviaxjupiter Aside from the general design, this drive is anything but classic. It boasts some pretty spiffy features and even makes some bold claims, such as being 100% weatherproof and fully submersible in water. Water, eh... well then, let's just see if the OCZ ATV Turbo drive can back up these claims in both frozen and boiling states! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/atvturbo Tagan advertises the El Diablo as the world's first case with an enormous 360mm fan in the side panel. Couple that with a nearly-as-large 250mm fan in the front and you've got a case that moves some serious air! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/taganeldiablo Moral of the story: protect your investment! When I recently purchased my iPhone, one of the first things I did afterwards was hit the net in search of a case. I ended up selecting Mobi Products iPhone Skin Case. So, did I make a good choice? Continue on to find out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mpcase I have tried this method with several different MP3 files and have found this to be the easiest and most effective method. My initial problems were with the ringtones overpowering the crummy speaker, but doing the Decrease Volume trick in Sound Recorder eliminates 99% of the overpowering sounds and leaves a crisp, clear ringtone that works great! http://www.ocia.net/articles/iphonetones The packaging for each enclosure is nearly identical, with a photo of the drive on the front of the box as well as a few key features. The back of the box goes into further detail of the enclosure. Upon opening the box, we find a screwdriver, a set of screws, driver + installation disc, USB cable and the enclosure itself, tucked away securely in a leather carrying case. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nexstarsx The debate of the paste rages on! What makes one thermal paste better than another? Is it the little features in these so-very-essential products, or is it sheer performance? In my everlasting quest of the answer, I have come across Arctic Cooling's MX-2 thermal compound, which appears to be a promising contestant in the goop challenge. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/acmx2 Cooler Master has been releasing a lot of new products lately. From cases to peripherals, I'm starting to see their name everywhere. One of their most recent products to hit their website is the Hyper 212 CPU cooler. With support for all platforms, four heat pipes, and a silent, blue LED 120mm fan, this cooler has a lot of things going for it. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/CMHyper212 Let me clarify by saying that this case is huge. I want to get that out of the way. One of my favorite designs for cases is the matte finish for that modern look. The front has a smooth finish mixed with the matte to break up the monotony. With plenty of holes drilled out, they made sure there was somewhere for everything to vent, even above the PSU. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/monolith Today I will be looking at my second 2.5" HDD enclosure in as many months, in the Vantec EZ-Swap EX 2.5" drive enclosure. This enclosure offers a different mix of features, which may prove to be more useful that those on the Icy Box. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ezswapex Kingwin, aka KWI Technology Inc, has been around since 1992, which makes them one of the oldest aftermarket hardware companies in the industry. They started out making CPU coolers and external HDD racks, and now are into liquid cooling, cases, high performance air cooling, power supplies and some pretty innovative storage solutions. They pioneered the use of aluminum in external storage enclosures, which led the way for its use in cases. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/kingwinmach1 Back in June, I reviewed the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 video card cooler. Though entirely passive, it blew the stock cooler out of the water. People have been raving on and on about this cooler in reviews, and it seemed like it just couldn't get any better until Arctic Cooling put out the Turbo Module, an addition to the S1 and S2 coolers. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/acturbomod 32 bit versions of Windows, both XP and Vista, have a maximum memory limit of 4 GB. On paper, this sounds perfectly well, as the kit we have for review today is just that, 4 GB. But this specification can be a bit misleading. You see, this 4 GB limit includes all of the system memory... which includes, for example, your video card(s) memory. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczquad There are a lot of power supplies out there today boasting a variety of features. Between modular power supplies and super silent ones, it can be really hard to find exactly what you need. Ultra Products is trying to make this decision an easy one with their X3 Power Supplies. They really set their eyes on the prize when designing these power supplies, and it shows. The X3's have all of the hottest features that everyone is looking for these days: a fully modular cable system, a silent 135mm fan, flex-force sleeved cables, and extreme (85%) efficiency. Today we're going to have a look at the 600W flavor. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultrax3600w Coollaboratory's Liquid Pro and Shin Etsu's X23 have been fighting for the lime-light for the past few years, but only tested by a few American (or other English speaking language countries) review sites. Everyone seems to get different results, all with a "clear winner," which brings into question the idea that thermal compounds really do differ from one another. Today, we're reviewing Coollaboratory's Liquid Pro to see for sure if this difference exists. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/liquidpro Laptop hard drives are now being used in external enclosures instead of traditional 3.5" drives for a number of reasons. These drives are much smaller and generate less heat and noise than 3.5" drives. Write speed and capacity limitations were once a point of concern for laptop drives, but that is now a thing of the past. Today I will be looking at the Tagan Icy Box IB-266StUS-B, an external 2.5" drive enclosure that offers a variety of connection configurations and flexibility. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/icybox Whether you are interested in lifecasting, video conferencing or simply chatting online with friends or family on the other side of the planet, it all starts with a webcam. I tried using a webcam several years back and quickly gave up because the quality was horrible. It was like watching a photo slideshow in slow motion. Things have certainly come a long way since then and I am excited to try a "newer" webcam to see just how much improvement has been made over the years. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/qcpro9000 CoolIT Systems has taken the cooling industry by storm with their recent releases of the Freezone and the Eliminator CPU coolers. Capitalizing on the technology behind thermoelectric cooling, CoolIT has managed to bring high performance cooling to even the least experienced of users. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cooliteliminator Today we will be taking a look at a powerful unit from their newest line, named X3. Ultra has taken all of the best features from their previous models and packed them in the X3. On paper, this power supply looks to have everything a hardcore enthusiast could want, and more. But, will it be able to deliver on those promises? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultrax31k The Lexa Blackline is a nice looking rig. The window could be a little smaller, to hide some of the wire mess, but not a big deal. The red LED fans are a change from the blue ones most rigs use, and the black/red combination is a cool look. I ran the front, rear, and side 120mm fans with 12v, and the trio are surprisingly quiet. So quiet that I may not change them to 5v in the future as I usually do. Keep in mind if you run them at 5v, the LEDs probably won't light up much. The red HDD led is differentgoes very well with the theme. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/blackline We here at OCIA.net got our first look at OCZ's FlexXLC "Hybrid Cooling Solution" at the 2007 CES show in Las Vegas back in January. OCZ was displaying the very same kit that we will be looking at today, the PC2-9200 2x1GB kit, which, at that time, was tagged as the world's fastest memory. Now, nearly eight months later, we get the opportunity to test this memory for ourselves. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczflex9200 There are a variety of ways to carry data with you. You could buy a notebook computer and schlep it with you everywhere. That can be helpful if you need processing power or internet access on the move. Not everyone, however, has the extra cash for another computer, or the shoulder muscle to tote around a heavy laptop. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cirago The product up for review today is made by Wolf King and is called the Ultimate FPS Warrior Game Pad, or just Warrior for short. It's not meant to take the place of your keyboard but rather clusters most of the left-side keyboard controls into a circular pad for easier accessibility. If you're looking to replace your keyboard altogether check out the Timber Wolf which incorporates the circular pad with a standard notebook-sized keyboard. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/warriorpad Needless to say, a full, high quality water cooling system will undoubtedly run you a few hundred dollars. The average high-end PC owner either isn't ready to drop that much more money over an air cooler or doesn't need to cool anything except their CPU. And even among those who do have the dough and the desire, it takes a special person to take that leap of faith to a custom water kit, with so much room for mistake and ruining your beloved computer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/aquagates1 With accommodations for triple 120mm radiators and multiple power supplies, these cases are built with watercooling in mind. Watercooling is not a requirement, however. You can still get plenty of functionality from a U2-UFO with simple air cooling. http://www.ocia.net/articles/mmduality Today I'm trying out Arctic Cooling's Accelero S1, a passive VGA cooler, on my ATi Radeon X1900XTX 512MB card. Two of the major issues with this video card are its hot, hot temperatures and its loud fan, so I'm excited to see how this will perform and help remedy these issues. Introduced April 24th of this year and scheduled to arrive in stores in the coming few days, the Accelero S1 relies on negative air pressure created by other case fans to suck outside air through the expansion slot across its fins. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/acceleros1 I will be testing the SDHC card using my laptop (HP Pavilion tx1119us) and digital camera (Nikon D80 DSLR). I will be using HD Tune and SiSoft Sandra to measure read / write, access times and such. http://www.ocia.net/articles/ocz8gbsdhc NZXT is well known for their Crafted Series of computer cases, producing such hits as the Nemesis and the Guardian - the Transformer-ish case that put NZXT's name on the radar of millions of hardware / gaming enthusiasts worldwide. NZXT has since broadened their product line to target non-gamers as well. The Classic Series presents customers with a quality NZXT chassis without the added "bling". Today we will be taking a look at the NZXT HUSH, the latest offering under the Classic Series. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxthush The Movie World Enclosure onscreen GUI is extremely simple to use. There are four different modes (views) you can select from. The first (and default) is File Mode, which like Windows Explorer, has two panes. The left pane displays the folder structure and the right pane lists the contents of the current folder. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mwenclosure It has very thin, tightly packed fins for high airflow situations. They are also folded down on the ends to keep the air flowing directly through the heatsink. The blackplate on the top of the cooler is attached to the blue LED fan and slides out with some encouragement, making it possible to put in a higher powered or lower noise fan. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tuniq120lfb The back of the unit uses a honeycomb style grill to allow plenty of hot air through. A power connector and on/off switch are also present on the rear of the unit. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/modxstream780 Perhaps most well known for their various types of memory, they make a variety of hardware, from laser gaming mice to video cards to CPU coolers. Most importantly, at least for the purposes of this review, they make power supplies. OCZ sports many lines of power supplies, including gaming grade and modding friendly lines. On May 25th, OCZ announced their merger with PC Power and Cooling, showing how serious they really are about the power supply industry. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/stealthxstream600w Well here's something that might just fit the bill. It's a little gadget made by Soyo Group (the same folks that made motherboards) and it's called the TechAID. It's a small diagnostics card that plugs into a PCI slot on any motherboard and reads and displays BIOS trouble codes during POST. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/soyotechaid Borrowing a page from CPU and GPU cooling solutions, we now have heatpipe technology being used on memory modules. The principal is the same as other heatpipe coolers - heat is transferred from the base of the cooler (in this case, the memory modules) to the upper deck of aluminum fins via the copper heatpipes on either side of the module. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ocz6400reapereb We all know how the story played out for 3dfx, the graphics company that had dominated the industry for several years in the late 90s with their Glide API. The Glide API was created by 3dfx and optimized the overall gaming experience when used in conjunction with the Voodoo hardware. Having a specialized API was both the highlight and the downfall for 3dfx. For the few short years that Glide reigned supreme, there were several games released that implemented this proprietary API. http://www.ocia.net/articles/glide The power supply itself is finished in a high gloss gunmetal paint job which looks great. The right side (or left, depending on how you look at it) of the power supply displays the typical specs sticker found on all units. This unit has four 12v rails, each sporting 18A. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/bequiet700w I decided to put this article together to help answer a few different questions. I will be comparing the iPhone to the Palm Treo 700p in a wide array of categories, from music, e-mail and web browsing to Google Maps, text messaging, screen size and everything in between. http://www.ocia.net/articles/iphone700p Today I am reviewing a tester from CoolMax that offers exactly that... an LCD that displays exact voltage outputs for each of the different rails. CoolMax advertises this tester to be accurate to within +/- 0.1V and with all outputs displayed to the tenth of a volt we can infer the unit is simply rounding up or down. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/coolmaxpsutester The front bezel houses two 5" drive bays and one 3" opening, next to which is the LCD temperature display. Immediately below this is the spring-loaded steel carry handle. It retracts into the case when not in use but can easily be pulled out when you need to carry the X-QPack 2 to your next gig. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/xqpack2 A day earlier, Digg moderators pulled a story from the site that contained the hacked HD DVD encryption key. Digg did not want to put itself in a position to "break the law" and potentially be sued. Diggers caught wind of this "act against Democracy" and, in a fight against what many considered unjust censorship, began submitting story after story that contained the HD DVD key... and they were all getting dugg to the front page! And thus, the revolution was kick into warp speed http://www.ocia.net/articles/digg Those looking for some extreme cooling/overclocking are certainly in store for a treat. With a high performance cooling fan, I was able to obtain some of the best temperatures I have seen on an 8800 GTX card to date - even better than what most watercooling options can offer. When it comes to overclocking, I was able to push the 8800 GTX well beyond the previous 650 MHz barrier with stock cooling. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/thermalrighthr03plus I want to take a moment and discuss the Enhanced Performance Profiles that are present on these modules. In a nutshell, if your are running an nForce SLI-based motherboard, the board will automatically detect the presence of EPP enhanced modules. These EPP modules are pre-programmed with advanced SPD (Serial Presence Detect) settings to boot at 800 MHz with timings of 4-4-4-15 1T. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczsliready6400 As the description suggests, there is actually some active science/technology behind how the headphones function. Using Logitech's SilentSound technology, the headphones dynamically adjust to and filter out surrounding noise, leaving you with a quieter environment in which to enjoy your music. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/logitechnch To get a feel for where the X1900XTX stands on the market, it was created shortly after the X1800 series to compete with nVidia's 7800 series. Specifically, the X1900XTX would compete with the 7800GTX. The X1900XTX, however, blew the 7800GTX out of the water and is more aptly compared to nVidia's 7900GTX. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/atix1900xtx The X-Finity has the same number of connections so I won't go over that again. But, the cool thing with these cables is that they aren't rounded and sleeved like most you are used to. These cables are designed to lay flat, which means you can easily route them in your case. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultra800s The Plus Deck 2c has the necessary controls for a tape deck... play, reverse, fast forward, fast reverse, stop and eject. Actually, there are two eject buttons. There is also a headphone jack and mic jack; I guess for someone that wants those up front but doesn't already have the capability. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cassettedeck Idle temps at stock clock were in the low 50s, so I was pretty apprehensive overclocking with the stock cooler. The cube on ATI Tool heated the GPU into the low 60s. I tried some overclocking anyway, and even with a very mild overclock, I couldn't get through 3DMark06 without the program locking up. So, I install a Zalman FS-V7 that I had on an unused card. Idle temps immediately hit the low 40s. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/7900gs One of my favorite features of the TVisto is the ability to play .ISO files directly. This means that you can rip a DVD and have the TVisto play the .ISO file as if it were the actual DVD, complete with menus, special features, etc. This is a great way to back up your DVD collection and take it with you anywhere you go. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tvisto Right away it's clear to see where the name of the product comes from - it looks like a book! The front of the My Book has two clear rings. The inner ring is lit with a blue LED to show the remaining free space on the drive. The outer ring also has a blue LED and acts as an activity light, flashing when data is copied to or from the My Book. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/wdmybook320 One of the coolest features of this keyboard are the included "gaming keys". These extra keys can be swapped out with the standard letter keys. The included tool is very easy to use. Just slide it down over the existing key, then lift up. The key pops right out, allowing you to put the alternate key in its place. I was very impressed with how well the tool worked. It takes only a few seconds to swap out each key. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/revoltecgear A power switch is located on the rear of the unit, as well as a switch for the +12v rail which can be set to "split" or "combined". This is the first power supply I have seen that offers such a switch. There has been a lot of talk the past few years with the introduction of multiple 12v rails, and even more as of late with the jump back to single 12v rails. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/precise850 The CoolViva features a copper base with three copper heatpipes that run the length (top to bottom) of the heatsink. The pipes cross through aluminum fins to dissipate heat. The radial fan forces air through the fins by blowing air from front to back and then out through the rear of the case using the vented riser plate. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/cmcoolviva You can press down on the scroll wheel at any time to switch between Click-to-Click and Free Spin mode. Even more interesting, the MX Revolution can detect the type of application that is currently active and adjust the scroll wheel according. Also, the wheel can automatically detect how "fast" you spin the wheel; if you spin it fast enough, it will automatically switch over to Free Spin mode then lock back into Click mode by itself! http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mxrevolution Here we get a look at the heatpipes and the TEC which is sandwiched between two copper plates. Each plate has four heatpipes leading to the upper deck of aluminum fins that are cooled by the 92mm fan. Initially, the CPU is cooled by the "heatsink" - that is, the heatpipes and aluminum fins. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultrachilltec First, the OP1000 features a single +12v rail that is rated at 80A (88A peak). What does this mean exactly? Many other high end power supplies feature multiple (usually 2-4) +12v rails which average 20A per rail. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it does mean that you will need to make use of multiple rails, as to not overload a single rail. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/silverstoneop1000 The upper deck (where your hand rests) is made from a smooth rubber material which feels more like micro-suede; very nice. The scroll wheel has 24 individual click positions that remain silent when scrolling. The left side of the mouse has two large fully programmable thumb buttons. The Razer logo is positioned discreetly in the center of the mouse and blends in nicely when the mouse is not plugged into your computer. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/deathadder CoolIT claims the Freezone can go head to head with the best watercooling systems, right out of the box. The "kit" comes pre-filled and pre-assembled so all you need to do is install the cooling block on your processor and mount the chiller assembly in your case. Yes, everything fits inside the case; yet another advantage over some watercooling kits on the market today. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/freezone The OCZ 8800 GTX, like most every manufacturer's offering, is based on the NVIDIA reference design, so don't expect anything new or ground breaking here. But there are a few things that do set the OCZ card apart from others. First, the OCZ 8800 GTX is "binned to perfection" -- this means that every OCZ card is pre-screened and only the best cards make it to market. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ocz8800gtx I will be installing the Ultra-X heatsink in my Intel test system. You can see just how large the Ultra-X is compared to the stock Intel cooling solution. The hardware needed for this install includes the backplate, four spring-loaded thumb-screws and four clear washers. Be extra careful when handling these washers, since they are very difficult to see. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/enzotech One of the good things about the ProXStream that sets it apart from other 1kw power supplies is its small footprint. We measured the unit to be 5 1/2" in length. Most other 1kw units (and even some not as powerful) are much longer, which will cause problems with optical drives and in cases that use a top-mounted exhaust fan. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/proxstream1kw This week I get a chance to check out one of NZXT's latest offerings in the "Classic" series, the Duet. Aptly named for its ability to function in either a mid-tower or desktop orientation, the Duet looks to give users the benefit of a small footprint case without having to sacrifice on hardware due to component size constraints... http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtduet Before we move to the heart of the diNovo Edge, I wanted to show you just how slim this keyboard really is. The Edge measures just over 1/2" thick; 13mm to be exact. Extending the feet help raise the keyboard up a bit more, should you feel more comfortable with this typing angle. Logitech keeps with this slim design on the face of the keyboard as well. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/dinovoedge Using the 3.0x memory ratio, we find a little more headroom when slightly relaxing the timings to 4-5-5-8. Still using 2.3v, this brings the modules up to 501Mhz or DDR1002, impressive. The system is completely stable at these settings, able to pass four 32M Super Pi runs in a row. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/supertalent6400 As I approach his back bumper I hit redline and slam it in third. With the finish line fast approaching, I made my move, flying around him on the left and crossing the finish line with half a car length to spare. I had won the race! I step out of my car and throw my fists in the air. I look to the crowd for my much earned recognition only to find two cats and my girlfriend looking at me with expressions of bewilderment, bringing me full circle back to reality. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/logitechg25 The tissue paper is also something not regularly seen in case packaging. After pulling all of that packaging away you can see the front panel and side window are further protected by yet another layer of plastic. The side window is even covered inside and out. Ultra has obviously taken extra steps to make sure this case arrives at your door with the finish in factory pristine condition. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultragrid Swiftech included their extremely popular APOGEE CPU water block with the system and they have already installed and leaked tested the complete cooling system. Unless you have a AMD socket M2, all you'll need to do is install the block, connect the two hoses and fill the system. If you have an AMD socket M2 based system, you'll need to switch out the water block's mounting plate. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/swiftechp180 Simple and easy to understand commands make programming the unit a breeze. For those users who require more complex commands, you have the ability to adjust even the smallest factors such as delay time between macro commands. Logitech has an extensive database that should cover most any brand and model of equipment that you may own. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/harmony720 CES 2007 may be in the history books but we still have a ton of photos to share with you. We visited many booths during the show but due to the fact that many of these booths were crowded, we couldn't schedule a meeting with all of the companies we visited and thus, no in-depth articles. Below you will find "everything else" we saw at CES, including the showroom floor, 3 Doors Down, Las Vegas night life and of course, booth babes! Enjoy! http://www.ocia.net/articles/misc SilverStone was founded in 2003 and has earned a very respectable reputation in the past few years. Perhaps most known for their line of ATX and HTPC cases, SilverStone also makes some great high-end power supplies and cooling solutions. We stopped by the SilverStone booth and met with Tony Ou who gave us the complete rundown of what's out now and what to expect in 2007. http://www.ocia.net/articles/silverstone e stopped by the Razer booth on day three of CES to check out what new products they have in store for 2007. We were anticipating a quick visit as the booth was somewhat crowded. I informed one of the Razer associates that we were there. I was pleasantly surprised when Robert "Razer Guy" Krakoff, founder of Razer, offered us an in-depth look and demonstration of their latest product, the Razer Mako 2.1 THX speaker system. http://www.ocia.net/articles/razer Besides our love for computers, we here at OCIA.net are also very much into cars. While CES is not specifically geared towards the automotive industry, there are plenty of hot rides on hand being used to showcase new audio, navigation and other vehicle-related goodies. We took a few hours to tour the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center to scope out what was new in the industry. Our cameras were in heavy use and below are some of the sights we wanted to share with you all. Enjoy! http://www.ocia.net/articles/cars The OCZ Technology / Shuttle Overclockerfest was the second party we attended in as many days. The party took place Monday night from 9 p.m. until midnight on the 29th floor of the Bellagio Hotel. http://www.ocia.net/articles/oczshuttle Cool IT Systems was the first vendor we met with at CES. Cool IT made their presence known last year at CES with the release of the Freezone, a closed-loop liquid cooling system that makes use of a Thermal Electric Cooler (TEC) to chill the liquid to sub-ambient temperatures. Cool IT is back again this year with even more new and innovative products. http://www.ocia.net/articles/coolit The Tech Zone CES Kickoff Party: Killer NIC & OCZ Technology! http://www.ocia.net/articles/ttzparty Twenty hours into the trip and we were just about to reach Albuquerque, New Mexico. The snow had long since stopped but the roadways were still a bit treacherous. http://www.ocia.net/articles/roadtrip3 As with most tasks that XPTB and I set out to accomplish, things rarely go as anticipated... and this trip is no exception. Our last update was just four hours into the trip. It is now 16 hours later and we have just left Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our journey to this point is as follows. http://www.ocia.net/articles/roadtrip2 Mapquest calculates the trip to be 1602.61 miles from Olive Branch, MS to Las Vegas, NV which equates to 23 hours, 18 minutes and traveling through eight states. The original plan was to leave out at 8 a.m. Friday morning. Well, that didn't happen as some last minute packing and vehicle maintenance was required. We ended up rolling out around 2:30 p.m. after a quick Burger King lunch. http://www.ocia.net/articles/roadtrip I have a tradition that I've had for about 30 years. Any time I get new audio equipment, the first music I listen to on it is Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon". I wore out at least two vinyl records of it, a couple of 8-track tapes, at least one cassette and a couple of CDs, so I can say that I have listened to the entire album once or twice. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/razerbarracudaaudio Firing the unit up shows off the quality of the display, 128x128 pixel resolution and 262k color. When connected to an XP computer the player is immediately recognized as a removable storage device and assigned a drive letter. The player also recognizes it is connected and ready to transfer files. The built-in lithium battery recharges through the USB port. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/supertalentms It's no secret that today's hardware is demanding more power than ever before. For instance, those interested in running two 8800GTX cards in SLI are looking at a bare minimum of 750 watts in the power supply department. Factor in your processor(s) demands, hard drive(s) and watercooling gear and that 750 watt minimum seems a little less inviting. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ocz850 Of course, gaming is what they are for, and gaming is what I will do. I spent several hours playing Oblivion, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, America's Army and Call of Duty 2. As with music, the S-500 has excellent sound, maybe too good... I'm not really accustomed to hearing everything so well. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/everglideheadphones Now, let's consider power. I don't particularly care for getting power by USB, and that isn't an option here if you are using SATA interface. An internal power supply causes a few problems. It adds to the size and weight of the enclosure, plus adds heat. Vizo decided on an external AC adapter, and was kind enough not to use a "wall wort" style. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/viso The ET-850 is certified to be SLI Ready by Nvidia, and even features four PCI-Express power leads for graphics cards. It is rated for over 80% efficiency with four independent +12V outputs, and has eight Serial ATA power connectors. With plenty of power and plenty of connections, it sounds like it's ready to take on anything available on the shelf from quad-core CPUs to SLI graphics cards with as many Serial ATA drives as you can fit in most cases. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/etasis850 Viewing the case from the rear, it really looks like an upside-down ATX. This rear plate is interchangeable for either an ATX or BTX motherboard. Each side panel comes with two thumb screws for easy removal. This case gives you the choice of using either two 80mm fans or a single 120mm fan for rear exhaustion, and has a removable plate for mounting the PSU through the rear. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zerodegree The rear of the case offers two 120mm exhaust fans. I was happy to see a free-flowing design with these exhaust ports, rather than the restrictive grill designs that many other case manufacturers use. You can also see that two thumb-screws are used to hold the left side panel in place, allowing you to gain access to the case without the need for a screwdriver. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtzero Laptop coolers of various forms have been around for years, from special insulating pads to stands to things with fins and fans, but for every different type you see there are a myriad of mixed reviews over whether they're actually very effective or not. As I mentioned, in my experience their performance has been less than stellar. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/titancoolingpad The keypad lines up directly over the buttons on the phone, giving you full access to all of the buttons on the Treo. I did run into a slight issue here, however. With my Treo 700p, the green "call" button and the red "end call" buttons were not properly labeled. For the 700p and 700w, the correct placement for these icons would be on the horizontal buttons directly above their current placement. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/otterboxtreo Voltage specifications are printed on the obligatory side panel sticker. From the listed UL number E130843 we can determine that the Rocketeer IV is made by Topower, a well-known, high-quality power supply manufacturer, who also happens to make power supplies for OCZ. The UL listing will often reveal the true manufacturer of a power supply if it is simply rebranded under another company name. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/spirerocketeer I will be the first to admit that most all of the Fatal1ty products I have seen to date look pretty sweet, but many end users have complained about the hefty premium price tag put on these items and cannot justify spending the extra money. Today I will be looking at the Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZE1 Champ1on Series Aluminum Case... definitely a flashy looking system, but does it warrant the near $360 asking price? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/zalmanfatal1tycase As with all products from Swiftech, you get everything you need to install and connect their products to your current system. There are three sets of Swiftech's "Patent Pending" "F" style connectors in the most popular US sizes (1/2", 3/8" and 1/4"), so you shouldn't have any problems connecting the MCW-Ramcool to your current system regardless of the tubing size that you're running now. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/swiftechramcool I tried two different approaches, the first using a single large (700MB) ISO file, followed by a collection of around 500 smaller JPG files (250MB) and recorded the amount of time it took to copy these to the drive (Write) and from the drive (Read) separately. Transfer rates were calculated from these times and the Read and Write speeds were averaged to compare to results from HD Tach and HD Tune. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczmegakart Enter the NZXT Adamas Premium Aluminum Chassis: NZXT's first attempt at an all-aluminum case. NZXT was established in 2004 with their sights set on the gaming enthusiast market. Their first offering, the Guardian midtower case, had a revolutionary look (many said it resembled a Transformer) and was an instant hit. NZXT has expanded on their Crafted Series to include four other cases and more recently introduced the Classic Series which consists of the Trinity, Lexa and the newest addition, the Adamas. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtadamas With nearly a 700W rating this PSU looks ready to tackle the toughest of power requirements, and has some stunning good looks to match. There are also some pretty useful features you don't find on many other manufacturers power supplies, namely switchable illumination and see-through bottom, as well as a host of other handy gadgetry to keep your computer power needs well fed and easy to manage. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/apeviaiceberg To help solve this problem Cooler Master has developed a VGA water cooling solution that will remedy the heat problem as well as eliminate the noise problem. Cooler Master's Aquagate VIVA VGA cooling is an all-in-one sealed unit that offers the added benefit of being able to convert over to a CPU water cooling unit if the end-user so sees fit, http://www.ocia.net/reviews/aquagateviva The 700p comes with plenty of memory to start you out. 128 MB of onboard memory (60 MB available to the end user) allowed me to install all of the applications that I wanted, including some games. I still had roughly 45 MB or so left over. This leaves enough room to store a fair amount of music or tons of pictures and videos without even touching the expansion card. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/treo700p It is easily the best looking unit I have seen in person to date. The reflection that the EvoStream gives off is amazing. But, like anything that is shiny, it picks up dirt and especially fingerprints very easily. I was careful in handling the unit during the photo shoot to minimize getting it dirty. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczevostream Of course laptop coolers of various forms have been around for years, from special insulating pads to stands to things with fins and fans, but for every different type you see there are a myriad of mixed reviews over whether they're actually very effective or not. I must admit I'm a bit of a skeptic and never bought into these kinds of products, but when Cooler Master, who's been in the PC cooling business for 10 years, said they were sending over one of their new Notepal P1's, I couldn't wait to try it out. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/coolermasternotepal NZXT is a Taiwanese company that has built a name for themselves in the enthusiast community as a manufacturer of high-quality, low-cost innovative design computer cases. I recently had the opportunity to review one of these NZXT products, the Apollo mid-tower case, which received our seal of approval for its aesthetics, features and price. So when NZXT followed up with an invitation to check out their Precise 650 power supply my only question was, where do I sign? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/nzxtprecise650 The thin copper fins are skived, meaning they're actually sliced from the base during the manufacturing process. Because the fins are still attached at the bottom there is better heat transfer than if the fins were soldered. It appears that this heatsink has a missing fin at the far left, there is a ridge on the base as if there was once a fin there, and there is certainly room for one. The fan bracket also appears slightly bent. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/blueicepro OCZ began to diversify their offerings in 2004 with the release of power supplies aimed specifically at gamers. Since that point, OCZ has continued to expand their horizons, now offering cooling solutions to go along with their already wide array of products. Today we will be taking a look at yet another one of their new innovative products in the 2 GB Secure Digital Dual Memory Card. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/oczdualsdcard The headphones are packaged in a very attractive box with the black and green Razer motif inside of a blister pack. They are part of the Barracuda Integrated Audio System (IAS), which consists of the HP-1 headphones and the AC-1 Gaming Soundcard. The soundcard is not quite ready for release, but hopefully they will soon will allow me to give you a review of the whole system. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/barracuda It also includes a quiet 95mm LED fan and hardware for mounting to Socket 939, AM2, 478 and 775. With this impressive feature list it's hard to imagine that the Tempest would not perform well, however given the length of time since their last HSF offering, can OCZ hit a home run right out of the box? Or is the Tempest more likely to go down swinging? http://www.ocia.net/reviews/tempest Unfamiliar with the basics of Thermoelectric cooling? Thermoelectric pads are used to create a heat flux between the junction of two different types of materials or cooling components. The very basic explanation is that they transfer heat from one side of the pad to the other. So, adding a Thermoelectric pad to a computer component, with a waterblock on the side dissipating the heat, can make for a very efficient cooling device http://www.ocia.net/reviews/mcw60t After getting the Mini-Kart out of the packaging, you find that it has it's own clear plastic carrying/storage case. This storage case does come in pretty handy really and will help you keep track of the drive. If you have any sort of clutter at all on your desk, you stand a good chance of losing track of the drive; it's that small. Trust me, it happened to me more than a few times. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/minikart I located mine next to a return vent in my house, and in summer or winter months when the system is heating or cooling, the Reserator receives a good amount of circulating air. In the spring and fall however, the handler runs only infrequently, and during those months average water temperatures typically climb a few degrees. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/resfan Enter the new CK-1022-6 Freedom, touted as a Super Tower / entry-level server case from Asys. Yes, that's Asys, with a Y. Can't say that I've ever come across any of their cases before, but the product information sheet looked promising. And the pictures showed it was no slouch in the looks department either. There were also some interesting features I wanted to check out a bit closer. This might not be such a bad case after all. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/asys The Krait has acceleration in its drivers separate from the acceleration found in XP. Though acceleration is very handy when using a 400dpi optical mouse, Razer feels that acceleration on a 1600dpi mouse will probably be a hindrance and leaves it off by default. This does not affect the acceleration found in XP, which can be turned off in the control panel. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/krait The SP-600W Rocketeer IV is being marketed as a "modular cable, SLI-ready, gaming PSU". As of this writing, if you look at the Rocketeer IV at Spire's site, it is advertised as being "darkgrey titanium colored" (this one is definitely black), and the advertised specs are somewhat different (lower) than the ones on this PSU. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/spirepsu Late last year I had the opportunity to review SilverStone's 600w Strider power supply. The unit held its own very well and didn't even break a sweat, regardless of how far I pushed my hardware. It was clear that SilverStone had a winner on their hands with the 600w Strider, but we all know that you can't sit idle in the computer hardware industry or you will be left in the dust. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/st75zf Enter the Biostar TForce 6100. Although not normally a make I would consider when choosing a motherboard, the features this board offered really caught my attention, and the advertised overclock-friendly TForce (as opposed to the more standard 6100-M7) reeled me in. Biostar offers this board in Socket 754, 939 and AM2 flavors, and in order to keep costs down I chose to go with a Sempron 64 2500+ in 754 format. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/biostarforce The Ultra-90 encompasses the same basic features as the XP-90's and XP-120; heatpipes through an array of fins connecting to a base for contact, but the Ultra-90 is a tower design. Thermalright claims it can outperform it's predecessor, the XP-90, using a lower CFM fan. Today we'll see how it compares to the XP-90C using the same fan. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/ultra90 Both coolers feature four dual heat-pipes through 38 aluminum cooling fins mounted to a copper base, all soldered for maximum thermal convectivity. The NH-U9 is designed to be used with 80mm and 92mm fans; the NH-U12 with 120mm fans. Both coolers can mount two fans at once and are compatible with Intel Socket 478, LGA 775, and AMD K8. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/noctua As I noted before, the DiamondCool is constructed primarily of copper. It has 55 micro (0.40mm) fins soldered to a very thick base (8.5mm). It uses four copper heat pipes to help draw the heat away from the base and transfer it to the copper fins above. In theory this should work very well, but the proof is in the testing. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/spiresinks With more fin density and now 2 full circumference heatpipes, the 9 expands upon an already good design, and still maintains a low profile without resorting to taking up space on both sides of the card. Just one look at this cooler and you know Zalman has done their homework. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/vf900 Today I will be taking a look at the new HR-01, an aluminum heatsink incorporating 8, count them, 8 heatpipes in an all-new (for Thermalright) tower design. Thermalright claims the HR-01 is so efficient, it can be used solely as a passive radiator, meaning it requires no fan attached directly to the heatsink. Many companies before have tried the passive tower design... tried and failed to produce a heatsink that even comes close to equaling the performance of a traditional fan-cooled heatsink. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/hr01 The heatpipes pass through the center of the fins and are soldered in place. A total of 52 fins provide for a large surface area for cooling. As with Thermalright's other coolers, the finned portion of the heatsink overhangs the base by a good margin and should provide indirect cooling for components surrounding the CPU socket. http://www.ocia.net/reviews/si120 Recently, I reviewed the Apollo nVidia 6600GT. During the research for that review, I found out that the chipset on all 6600GT's has an onboard temperature sensor, but many card manufacturers opted not to enable temp monitoring on their particular cards. I would assume to discourage overclocking, but I'm just guessing. http://www.ocia.net/articles/tempmonitoring As mentioned earlier, I set my timings to 2.5-3-3-8-1T. I also lowered the HT multiplier to 3x. At these settings, I was able to get a maximum stable overclock of 9 x 255 (1:1) = 2,295 MHz, or basically 2.3 GHz. I tried lowering the multiplier to 8 and even 7, and also lowering the RAM divisor but was unable to get better results than those obtained at 9 x 255. I also tried various voltage settings, backing down from max as I have read that it can help sometimes. But in my case, I had no luck. http://www.ocia.net/articles/939oc Once you feel like you have a pretty good understanding of what is going on, the next thing to do is consider your components. In my case, I purchased the motherboard and CPU on a budget and didn't plan to overclock from the beginning, so I will just have to tough it out. But as you will see in the end, a budget system can oftentimes clock higher than more expensive setups. http://www.ocia.net/articles/754oc fstroupe performs a PSU mod on this fine piece of equipment! http://www.ocia.net/articles/hpmod