Daily Reviews Summary 09/07/07

I have used cordless mice for years and have never found a corded mouse that I would leave on my system. This is the first one that I would even consider keeping. It responds very well and is close to the same feel that I am accustomed to.

After running circles for three sets of two minutes on each driver we came up a bit dizzy, but the results were able to show impressive driver improvement over the months before BIOSHOCK was released. The Forceware 163.44 Beta drivers are clearly in the lead and while they didn't double the performance level versus the Forceware 158.18 drivers they came close. Just by updating the video card drivers we were able to pick up 34 frames per second, which is a 69.4% performance improvement!

Reviewing computer enclosures is always a mix of two parts personal preference, one part design and one part performance. Cases are generally seen as being all the same but that obviously isn't the case. But it's also obvious that the case enclosure isn't as important to your system as say, your processor or motherboard selection. If personal preference is important anywhere and relied on during the build of your new PC, the case is the place to put some style in; and the Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 will do just that with a side of good design along with it.

The CM 690 (RC-690-KKN1-GP) is a feature rich mid tower ATX case which comes with 3x120mm pre-installed, good tool less features, cable routing and room for up to 8 fans. All this for less than $80, too good to be true? We find out.

The Zalman Reserator XT External Water Cooling System performs very well, has many features, is easy to install and looks fantastic. There are many external water cooling kits on the market, but few are all aluminum and allow complete control over the fan speed and flow rate. Something else that separates this unit from others is the three gauges at the front. The gauges show fan speed, temperature information, flow rate and more. Watch the video to find out more and check out the bloopers at the end.

This time around we have two motherboards on our lab table. ABIT IP35 Pro Snake and ABIT IP35-E are board intended for use together with Intel's LGA 775 processors. As one can see for himself, the motherboards are based on Intel's newest, the P35 Express chipset which we already told a lot about. Still, it cannot hurt if we mention that these boards support the incoming wave of 45 nm processors with an FSB of 1333MHz.

At the top of the case, you can see a top-mounted fan, and cables for the USB/audio/Firewire. It struck me as very strange that a top-mounted fan is oriented to draw air inwards, and downwards, contrary to the normal rules of thermodynamics and air-cooling. The fan itself is held in place with two-part plastic split pins, and a metal mesh is screwed onto the exhaust side of the fan. What is going on here? There is no point to this mesh with the fan in this orientation, the mesh only serves the purpose of trapping fluff and hair inside the fan. Very strange. I wonder if this is an intentional design or a mistake. It certainly seems wrong to me.

I very seldom find myself in awe of any product design these days, since most manufacturers are more willing to produce a good product that can be mass produced than a truly great product requiring extensive effort. It doesn't happen often, but I have recently discovered the Zalman Z-Machine GT1000, a beautiful black high-end gaming mid-tower ATX computer case that has refined itself to the point of prestige. Hardware enthusiasts and hardcore gamers will delight in this fine chassis, and Benchmark Reviews offers you something you are not likely to find again for some time: innovation.