High Power Astro PT 700W Power Supply Review

Powering our test rig today is one of High Powers 80PLUS Platinum units, the Astro PT. The Astro PT is a semi-modular power supply rated at 700W, has an all-digital power delivery mechanism, flat ribbon-style modular cables, and a special LED bar on the rear of the unit that will display the units load and efficiency in real-time, which High Power have dubbed the “Eagle Eye.” You may recognize this particular model if you follow trade shows, as at this year’s Computex it took home the Design and Innovation Award.

Samsung MV-3V4G3D DDR3-1600 8GB Memory Kit Review

Samsung are well known as manufacturers of consumer televisions, laptops and other electronics. Samsung’s SSDs have been gathering traction and some rave reviews across the industry, and also picking up steam are Samsung’s offerings to the memory sector. Available in 2GB or 4GB DIMMs, with kits available for 4GB, 8GB and in some locations, 16GB, Samsung have something available for every user. Rated at 1600Mhz at only 1.35v, the kit is designed to fit into the low voltage/green market segment. With stock timings of 11-11-11-28, these kits aren’t aimed at the performance consumer.. but knowing that these DIMMs also support higher voltages, lets see how far we can push them, shall we?

PC Rejuvenation Guide

So your computer has seen its heyday and now it seems that it is slower than it once was. Your computer is “hanging” when opening relatively simple applications, it takes what seems like a lifetime to finish loading into Windows, and often you get issues trying to do anything at all that could be considered intensive. This guide is here to help you revive your computer and restore it to a level of performance that you may feel is lost to you. We’ll start with in-Windows tools, moving on to third party software, and then finally, hardware changes or upgrades.

Phanteks PH-F140TS 140mm Cooling Fan Review

Phanteks have been working in the cooling market for almost 20 years, but relatively recently they decided to breach into the consumer space with the incredible PH-TC14PE. Receiving rave reviews across the industry, Phanteks have made a name for themselves in very little time by dethroning the Noctua NH-D14, which was regarded as the king of air CPU cooling for quite some time. If you were to obtain a Phanteks PH-TC14PE, you’ll also be provided with 2 PH-F140TS 140mm case fans. These fans are rated to have very high airflow whilst not making much noise, credited to their Maelstrom Vortex Booster design on the blades of the fan itself. We’ve received the blue version of the PH-F140TS, but it comes in black, red, orange and white too. Keep reading if you want to see if this fan is able to blow away the competition.

NZXT Switch 810 Special Edition Gunmetal Case Review

You may have noticed that we already did a review on the NZXT Switch 810. Well…here we are again, and this time, we have the new Switch 810 Special Edition! NZXT sent us the gunmetal chassis, and it is most definitely a looker. Taking cues from the more classy looking chassis on the market, The Switch 810 SE has an understated aesthetic, whilst still being very easy on the eye. So did NZXT manage to pull off a feat of design greatness in their Switch 810 SE? We’re going to find out for you, strap in.

ASRock Z77 Extreme6 Intel Z77 Motherboard Review

The Extreme6 is ASRock’s mid-high end performance board, coming in the top 5 of the 12 boards ASRock offers to the consumer market for this platform. With an ATX form factor, it is extremely attractive with gold and silver accents. Claiming to feature everything an overclocker, gamer, or enthusiast would require including SLI and CrossFire support, Digital Power Phases, and support for heavily overclocked RAM. Backing this up is ASRock’s XFast 555 Software suite, which also claims to boost your USB transfer speed and reduce your gaming ping with a single click of your mouse. Is the ASRock Z77 Extreme6 one of the candidates for your latest upgrade? Read on to find out if it’ll be money well spent.

NZXT HALE82N 550W and 750W Power Supplies Review

Today we’re looking at NZXT’s latest power supply range; the HALE82N series. This series is aimed at PC builders who demand quality components, whilst sticking to a budget. It’s 80PLUS Bronze certified, non-modular, and has a standard ATX form factor that will accommodate cases where free space is at a premium.

Whilst many manufacturers are attempting to diversify their product ranges, in order for people to actually purchase these new lines the product needs to be of a certain quality. Does the NZXT HALE82N series hit the mark or fall short? Only one way to know; read on to find out!

Intel Ivy Bridge Overclocking Guide

So you’ve picked up a Intel Z77 board and an Ivy Bridge unlocked CPU and you want to know how to make your CPU perform better.  In this guide I’ll be detailing how to overclock your CPU with both offset and fixed voltage methods, along with ideal board/BIOS parameters for your new clock to remain stable.  So are you ready to overclock? Let’s go!

Hornettek Shark USB 3.0 2.5-inch Hard Drive Enclosure Review

Today we’re looking at Hornettek’s “SHARK” 2.5-inch SATA drive enclosure. You take your existing 2.5” drive and put in the enclosure and voila! Portable drive!  The SHARK utilizes USB 3.0 technology, giving it an edge over comparable products still using USB 2.0.  Crafted from Aluminum, the enclosure is definitely one designed with the aesthetic-oriented tech crowd in mind. Keeping this in mind, does it keep up in terms of performance too?  Read on to find out more..

ICY DOCK MB994SP-4S Mobile Rack Review

On the table today is a 2.5” drive rack by Icy Dock. The MB994SP-4S can hold four 2.5” drives, and fit all of them in a single 5.25” bay in your desktop or server. It can fit any 2.5” drive up to 15mm in height (yes, that includes Western Digital’s extremely popular 2.5” Velociraptor drives!) The chassis of the rack is 100% aluminum, which gives a solid feel and a clean look. It also has dual 40mm exhaust fans to keep the higher-RPM drives cool. Read on to find out more.