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XSPC AX Radiator Desk Stand Review
One of the biggest limiting factors in what you can do with watercooling is how much room you have in your case. With so much equipment to pack in for watercooling alone, space ends up being one of the chief concerns for builders and modders. And the single biggest limiting factor: how much radiator one can fit. Radiators are large, bulky, and inflexible in how they need to be installed. This can easily lead to the builder having to sacrifice cooling surface for space. There is a solution to this problem though; external radiator stands. And if you have chosen to use XSPC’s AX series of radiators, then you’re in luck. Today we will be looking at the AX Radiator Desk Stand from XSPC.
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Win a NZXT Phantom 630 Case!
It is summer time and it is the perfect time to give you, our readers some free hardware! We have teamed up with our friends at NZXT to give away a brand new NZXT Phantom 630 Case! This Ultra Tower not only looks good it has room for quite a lot inside like long graphics cards, XL-ATX Motherboards, 8 hard drives and a lot of watercooling! Like many of our contests we will be running this one on Facebook and it is extremely easy to enter!
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Case Mod Friday: ReactorMod
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have a builders ReactorMod build. Here is what he had to say about it: It's a modded Chieftec BX-03 case. I wanted to make it look like it's quite old and kinda shabby. I was thinking about this build for quite a long time, so I managed to collect some cool stuff that I've found on a nearby scrap yard (e.g. switch or steel sheet that I used to make the radiator cover). I also used some spare parts that I had lying around.
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Enermax Triathlor FC 550W Power Supply Review
Enermax is a brand whose strong product is their power supplies, especially when it comes to the high-end spectrum. Their Platimax and MAXREVO units are some of the best out there. But these units are not cheap in terms of cost. Enermax knows not everyone has a ton of cash to throw at a new power supply so they have created the Triathlor series of power supplies. There are actually the Triathlor and Triathlor FC units. The Triathlor units are lower wattage and non-modular and the Triathlor FC units are higher wattage and are modular. Today we are checking out the Triathlor FC 550W unit which is 80PLUS Bronze certified and offers quiet operation.
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SilverStone ARM22SC ARM Two Dual LCD Monitor Mount Review
We mainly know SilverStone for their cases and for good reason, they are high quality and look great. What if SilverStone took that same quality and put it into a LCD monitor mount? Then you would have what we are reviewing today which is the ARM Two ARM22SC dual LCD Monitor Mount from SilverStone. LCD arms are a great addition to any computer setup, especially if you are using a multi-monitor system. The ARM22SC is constructed with robust aluminum alloy and steel so this is a heavy duty piece of hardware. It will support two displays with VESA mounts. Read on as we get this installed and see how it transforms our desk.
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Win a Pivos XIOS DS Media Player!
Pivos is a company we have been working with lately and they make some pretty cool little media players. We have already reviewed their XIOS DS media player and it is a very unique device. Pivos was nice enough to give us one to give away to our readers! Just like all of our contests this one is very easy to enter and we will be running it on Facebook? So what are you doing get out there and get your entry in!
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Case Mod Friday: Black and White
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Christian Black and White build. Here is what he had to say about it: Well this is the first time I do something like this, and it really is interesting the world of case modding the project is BLACK AND WHITE and really was a design chosen because I began to paint the cabinet only and one thing leads to another as in all cases and was thinking of some ideas for covers.
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The History Of The Hard Drive
In 1953, engineers in IBM's California-based laboratory invented the very first hard drive. Since that first disk drive, technological advances have been made at an astonishing rate, with data capacity increasing and size and price decreasing exponentially, year on year. 60 years on, the hard drives of today are unrecognizable from the first models, which took up an entire room. Hard drives today are measured in terms of gigabytes and terabytes, rather than megabytes-an amount of data that would have been almost unimaginable in the early history of computers. Here we take a look back at the evolution of the hard drive as it grew from 5MB to 4TB.
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Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 Review
Lenovo has been making headlines with their IdeaPad Yoga. It is a tablet convertible that can be used as a laptop as well. There are 11-inch and 13-inch models. While the larger 13-inch model has the choice of Intel Core processors, the 11-inch does not and is rather powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 platform. Today we will be taking a look at that unit which does offer a very sleek and slim design, responsive 11.6-inch touchscreen, Lenovo’s patent-pending hinge design that allows the screen to flip completely over and it is running Windows RT. Let’s check it out!
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Case Mod Friday: ViRoiD
Welcome to another Case Mod Friday showcase! This week we have Ben's ViRoiD build. Here is what he had to say about it: Pictures speak louder than words. Getting a 690 to fit in a prodigy is not a big deal until you start thinking about watercooling it, and a cpu, and ram. I wanted a color that matched the p8z77-i, and blue was the ticket. The orange case was chosen because of its location opposite of blue on the color wheel. Modding the front of the case to fit the 200mm rad was fun, plus it gave me some extra materials to make some psu covers with.

Archive for category: Cases

Corsair Carbide Series 500R Case Review

Corsair Carbide Series 500R Case Review

I’ve said this before, but I am going to say it again…Corsair has really made a name for themselves over the past few years.  Not that long ago we only knew them for memory and now they are a top name when it comes to power supplies, cases and gaming accessories.  Their entry into the case market was great and every Corsair case that I’ve reviewed I’ve enjoyed.  There really has not been much I have not liked about Corsair cases.  They have unique designs, good cooling and none of the unneeded crap we find on so many other cases.  Today we are taking a look at the top case in their Carbide Series the Carbide 500R.  This mid tower case features a sleek design, 4 included fans, USB 3.0 and 2.5-inch hard drive support, a fan controller and much more.  Did I mention this case has a MSRP of $129.99.  Let’s check it out!

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SilverStone Precision Series PS07 Case Review

SilverStone Precision Series PS07 Case Review

Small form factor systems are getting increasingly popular.  With the amount of power in and features in new micro ATX and smaller motherboards means many people are opting for them over the traditional ATX motherboards.  They not only cost less but allow you to build a system that is not a pain in the you know what to take to LAN parties.  With the popularity of these motherboards there is a large demand for cases made specifically them.  Today we are taking a look at one such case, the Precision Series PS07 from SilverStone.  This case features a sleek tower design, removable motherboard tray, dual 120mm silent fans, USB 3.0 support and of course the quality you expect from SilverStone.  Looking for a case for that Micro ATX motherboard?  This may be the case for you!

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In Win GRone Full Tower Case Review

In Win GRone Full Tower Case Review

In Win has really had a name for themselves over the past year creating some really unique cases in their X-Frame and H-Frame.  While these cases look great and are very unique they are not for everyone.  Today we are taking a look at one of In Win’s latest cases the GRone, which is setup to compete with many cases from the more known brands.  To be honest this is the most feature-packed case that I’ve seen from In Win.  Some of those features include support for motherboards up to E-ATX, room for eight 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives, five included cooling fans, USB 3.0 support a hard drive dock and much more.  Read on as we take a look at the GRone.

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CM Storm Scout 2 Case Review

CM Storm Scout 2 Case Review

Cooler Master has their own gaming line called CM Storm.  CM Storm offers keyboards, mice, headsets and even cases for gamers.  Today we are checking out one of their latest cases the Scout 2.  I did not get the chance to check out the original Scout case so I do not know what to expect.  The Scout 2 features support for long video cards, room for up to 7 hard drives, tool-less installation of hard drives and optical drives, USB 3.0 support and a handle so you can easily take your system with you to a LAN party.  Is this the case for your gaming machine?  Read on to find out!

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MSI Barricade Case Review

MSI Barricade Case Review

The Barricade is MSI’s newest mid sized ATX case for gamers. It has several key features like fan controller built into the case, large side window and full size VGA support. The case also has a few unique features like a built in SD card reader and a removable top panel to put your cooling fans. The case also has several removable fan filters and a complete tool-less design. Let’s go ahead and take a look…

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Thermaltake Armor Revo Case Review

Thermaltake Armor Revo Case Review

Thermaltake’s original Armor case was one of the first cases that when I saw it I was really impressed.  I think it was the large aluminum front doors and the case window that was so big you could see pretty much see everything inside your case.  Since the original release Thermaltake has come up with new models expanding and improving on the original case.  Today we are taking a look at the latest case in the Armor series the Armor Revo.  This full tower features three 200mm fans, a hot-swap hard drive docking station, USB 3.0 support and many other features.  Can this case live up to the original Armor?  Read on to find out.

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NZXT Phantom 820 Case Review

NZXT Phantom 820 Case Review

NZXT’s Phantom case really brought NZXT into the spotlight.  The case was just awesome, a unique design, built in fan controller and much more.  The case became so popular we saw many custom PC makers using it and component companies using it to demo their products.  Since its release it is now available in red and even pink and NZXT released a value version of the case (Phanton 410).  The big surprise from NZXT this year was the Switch 810.  Another full tower case that again became a leader in the case market.  Now just in time for the holidays we have what would happen if you took the best features from the Switch 810 and Phantom and put them into one case.  The case is the Phantom 820 and it features 4 included cooling fans, integrated HUE lighting system, 4 channel digital fan controller, removable hard drive cages, USB 3.0 support and much more.  Read on as we take a look at this case!

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Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Case Review

Corsair Obsidian Series 550D Case Review

A few years ago when I sat at Corsair’s press conference where they announced they were going to be making more than just memory I was a little skeptical.  Many companies did the same thing, just rebranding OEM products.  Corsair was different, all of their products were original and they said they wanted to be in the top 3 of each product category.  They definitely surprised many people and have some of the best cases, cooling solutions and gaming gear.  Today I am taking a look at the 550D Mid Tower Case that is part of Corsair’s Obsidian Series.  The 550D is made for noise reduction and sound isolation.  It features front and side panels that are fully lined with sound-damping material, top and side panels that have their own sound-insulated vent covers, three included 120mm cooling fans, USB 3.0 support and much more.  Read on as we check out the Obsidian Series 550D case from Corsair!

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NZXT Aperture M Review

NZXT Aperture M Review

I have reviewed quite a few cases in my time and there are always two things that cases do not have, which are extremely common and many people use them on a daily basis, a card reader and USB 3.0 ports.  With all of our gadgets that use different types of storage cards I am actually surprised that we do not see more card readers on cases.  As far as USB goes USB 2.0 still rules the game and we occasionally see cases with a USB 3.0 port, but it is still not that often.  NZXT has a great solution that gives you both a card reader and USB 3.0 ports in a single 5.25-inch bay device!  Interested?  Let’s take a look!

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HighSpeed PC Top Deck Tech Station Review

HighSpeed PC Top Deck Tech Station Review

If you are testing motherboards, video cards or power supplies it is extremely annoying to keep on installing and removing them in cases.  That is why test benches and hardware workbenches were created.  Today we are taking a look at one such product from HighSpeed PC.  It is their Top Deck Tech Station.  This computer workbench supports mITX, mATX, ATX, eATX, and XL-ATX motherboards, has 4-Way SLI support with 10 expansion slots, and even has support for 2.5-inch hard drives!  Of course it easily allows you to change out components and gives you full access to your motherboard and video cards.  Read on to see if this is the perfect test bench for us!

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