Reviews 51924 Published by

Here part one of this weekends reviews roundup:

- CM HAF 912: Minor Package, Major Airflow
- Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II Review
- Acer Aspire 1551 11.6-inch Notebook Review
- Synology DiskStation DS211j Review
- A.C. Ryan Playon!HD Essential Media Player Review
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Review
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler Review
- Patriot Convoy 425XL SAS/SATA RAID Enclosure Review
- Ultra LSX 750W Power Supply Review
- Otterbox Commuter Series Case for Samsung Captivate
- Patriot Viper Xtreme DDR3 2000MHz Kit Review
- Motorola Droid Pro Cell Phone Review
- ECS H67H2-M Intel H67 Motherboard - FIRST LOOK
- GIGABYTE Aivia K8100 Review
- AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential Review
- CoolIT ECO A.L.C. Review
- VPS: What It Is and How It's Useful
- REVIEW: PNY XLR8 6GB DDR3-1600 Review
- ASRock Vision 3D System Review
- Razer Nostromo Game Board Review
- G.Skill Trident DDR3-2500 4GB Review
- Mionix Naos 3200 Gaming Mouse Review
- Radeon HD 5550 v. GeForce GT 430
- AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz Socket AM3 6-Core Processor Review
- TDK WR700 Headphones Review



CM HAF 912: Minor Package, Major Airflow
InsideHW.com has reviewed CoolerMaster HAF 912 case

When buying a new PC, or more precisely, planning to buy one, there's usually a maximum budget that may be spent in mind. Most systems are assembled and components carefully weighed against each other based primarily on that parameter. Of course that it's best to take components of similar quality across the entire system, but the heart of the PC is nevertheless usually the one to profit, while the enclosure and the belonging PSU are disregarded. However, most users overlook a major contradiction that lies there. The enclosure is more than just a tin can for shielding components and potentially looking good; it has a very important role in cooling. If you have a PC worth several hundred euros, not to mention a desire to toy around with overclocking, buying a “kung fu” enclosure is indeed a great risk (especially those coming with PSUs preinstalled)…
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Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II Review
TechReviewSource.com posted a review on the Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II

The Canon Pixma Pro 9500 Mark II is a dedicated photo printer that offers professional-looking printing capabilities and is also fast too. It has ten dedicated ink cartridges to allow for economical printing and the best quality possible.â
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Acer Aspire 1551 11.6-inch Notebook Review
Legit Reviews posted a review on the Acer Aspire 1551 11.6-inch Notebook

Looking for the performance of a notebook in the size of a netbook? At just 11.6-inches wide, 1 inch tall and weighing just 3.1lbs, the Acer Aspire 1551 could be the ultra portable computing device you've been dreaming about. The Acer Aspire 1551 notebook is powered the AMD Turion II Neo K625 Dual-Core processor that runs at 1.50GHz and a discrete ATI Radeon HD 4225 video card handles the graphics!

The Acer Aspire AS1551-5448 has a bit of an identity crisis. It's nearly as small as a netbook but has double the performance with a small price premium. It's much smaller than most "normal" ultra portable notebooks but performance is not quite up to that level and has a slightly lower cost. It looks to be what some might consider the perfect compromise. For many business users the netbook has an appealing size but the performance leaves a lot to be desired. With double the performance, still attractive battery life, and a very slightly larger footprint, the Aspire AS1551-5448 seems to be going after those that are turned off by the performance of a netbook but value its size...
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Synology DiskStation DS211j Review
TestFreaks posted a review on the Synology DiskStation DS211j

The Synology DiskStation DS211j is operating system agnostic so it can be used on home/work networks running either Windows, Mac or Linux systems. The built in Media Server is DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) capable allowing the NAS to stream seamlessly to DNLA ready devices such as the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
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A.C. Ryan Playon!HD Essential Media Player Review
HardwareHeaven.com posted A.C. Ryan Playon!HD Essential Media Player Review

A.C. Ryan are back with the next model in the Playon!HD family, the Essential. With an all new Realtek processor, improved GUI and feature-set aimed at no-fuss operation can the Essential live up to the high standards of previous models?
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Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler Review
OCIA.net has posted their review of the Arctic Cooling Freezer 13 CPU Cooler

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.
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Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler Review
ThinkComputers.org posted a review on the Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler

Looking for a HTPC CPU Cooler? Then the Arctic Cooling Freezer 11 LP CPU Cooler is a great choice for you. This cooler has a compact design, ultra quiet PWM fan, and easy installation for HTPCs. The cooler supports CPUs up to 90 Watts and only Intel LGA 775 and 1156 processors. This silent CPU cooler should be something you should have in mind if you’re designing an HTPC system. Read on further to find out more.
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Patriot Convoy 425XL SAS/SATA RAID Enclosure Review
Benchmark Reviews posted a review on the Patriot Convoy 425XL SAS/SATA RAID Enclosure

Most PC cases sold today don't have any provision for directly mounting a 3.5" device in the front panel. Floppy drives are a thing of the distant past, and most accessory units designed for mounting in this location have adopted the 5.25" format. The Patriot Convoy 425XL takes advantage of this larger environment to provide space for four 2.5" format drives. It's ideally suited for an application where a RAID solution is needed in a small space, particularly the higher RAID levels that require 3-4 drives for a combination of speed and redundancy. Commonly called "laptop" drives, the smaller format is also the most common platform for SSDs. There has been an explosion in the last two years of 2.5" SSSDs on the market; silent and fast, with low power requirements, they would seem to be an ideal companion for this new class of drive enclosure. Benchmark Reviews takes a look at the ins and outs of the Convoy 425XL and then puts it through its paces with a full suite of benchmarking tests.
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Ultra LSX 750W Power Supply Review
OCC has published a review on the Ultra LSX 750W Power Supply

I know from past experience that other Ultra power supplies haven't quite been up there with the best, but the LSX 750W electrical performance is excellent. The DC voltage load regulation, in combination with very low noise/ripple levels, make for very good DC quality on all the rails. The efficiency, though not quite meeting its 80 Plus Bronze certification following the OCC power supply testing methodology, is still very good at 87% maximum.
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Otterbox Commuter Series Case for Samsung Captivate
TestFreaks posted a review on the Otterbox Commuter Series Case for Samsung Captivate

I don’t quite understand how people can spend excessive amount of money on a phone and not protect it. I know people that just toss them in their pockets with keys or whatever are they’re phones end up ruined after time. Even with new technologies like Gorilla Glass phones today still aren’t invincible. Every phone I’ve ever had has been kept in a case and had a screen protector on it because I like my gadgets to stay in good shape. My latest phone, the Samsung Galaxy S Captivate is no exception it’s a great phone and it deserves the best. The best would be pretty much anything from Otterbox, at least that’s my opinion. A week or so ago I reviewed the Impact from Otterbox for the Captivate, today I have the Commuter Series case which offers additional protection in the form of a hard shell case and silicone casing.
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Patriot Viper Xtreme DDR3 2000MHz Kit Review
Neoseeker posted a review on the Patriot Viper Xtreme DDR3 2000MHz Kit

We've got another DDR3 dual channel memory kit on the test bench today, this time the Viper Xtreme DDR3-2000 kit courtesy of Patriot. This 1.65V dual channel memory kit boasts stock speeds of 2000MHz with 9-10-9-27 timings. Check out how it performed in our latest review
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Motorola Droid Pro Cell Phone Review
Hardware Secrets posted a review on the Motorola Droid Pro Cell Phone

Since their inception, most of the Android smart phones have been created to compete with the iPhone. It seems inevitable that at least one model would compete directly with the BlackBerry. The Droid Pro, a world-roaming capable smart phone with a full QWERTY keyboard is that phone. We set out to see if the Droid Pro could really be a BlackBerry killer.
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ECS H67H2-M Intel H67 Motherboard - FIRST LOOK
PC posted a first look on the ECS H67H2-M Intel H67 Motherboard

The ECS H67H2-M motherboard supports quad-core Intel 2nd Generation Core i3/i5/i7 2xxx-series socket 1155 32nm Sandy Bridge processors. The LGA1155 socket is not compatible with existing LGA1156 processors, nor are the upcoming LGA1155 CPUs backwards compatible with existing LGA1156 motherboards despite the common processor names. ECS' H67H2-M motherboard has one PCI Express 2.0 x16 videocard slot that runs with 16-lanes of bandwidth, two PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots and a legacy PCI slot care of an ITE controller. The Intel H67 has notably dropped native support for PCI. The MicroATX ECS H67H2-M features four dual channel DDR3-1066/1333 memory slots which can accommodate up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM in 32-bit OS', 16GB in 64-bit Windows 7.
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GIGABYTE Aivia K8100 Review
Vortez posted a review on the GIGABYTE Aivia K8100 gaming keyboard

At the end of September we were invited to a conference by GIGABYTE, there they showcased a number of forthcoming products. One of the focal points at the seminar was the ferocious GIGABYTE SOC NVIDIA graphics cards. Although GIGABYTE did spend a majority of their time divulging information about these new cards they also went to great lengths to expose a new succession of gaming peripherals that will soon be hitting the market. Amongst the gaming peripherals under the spotlight were the M6900 and M6980 gaming mice which we recently reviewed, and a new gaming keyboard named Aivia K8100. Stealing the show today though is the Aivia K8100, a gaming keyboard with a whole host of interesting features such as 20 Anti-Ghosting keys, touch and slide volume control, macro functionality and silicone protector to name just a few.
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AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential Review
KitGuru posted AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential Review

Dutch based A.C. Ryan have been receiving critical acclaim recently for their series of Playon!HD media devices. We have reviewed their full range so far on KitGuru and today we look at their latest edition, the Playon! HD Essential.

The Essential is the first ‘no network media player’ with the option to upgrade to a network. The onboard chip is provided by Realtek without networking, however A.C. Ryan have cleverly created an option in the player to upgrade with the additional purchase of the ‘Essential USB Wi-Fi Dongle’.
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CoolIT ECO A.L.C. Review
Hardwareoverclock.com has posted another water cooler review

Last week wehave taken a look at the CoolIT ECO A.L.C. This Advanced Liquid Cooling was made for small systems and cases without place for big watercooler.
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VPS: What It Is and How It's Useful
Techgage.com takes a look at Virtual Private Servers

We've talked a fair bit about home virtualization in the past, but now we're going to take a different turn and tackle VPSs, or "Virtual Private Servers". In essence, a VPS is a virtual machine in the cloud, allowing you to log in from anywhere and gain nearly full control over a remote machine with tons of bandwidth to do a variety of cool things.
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REVIEW: PNY XLR8 6GB DDR3-1600 Review
PureOverclock has published a review of the PNY XLR8 6GB DDR3-1600 memory modules.

For the user looking to harness the power of triple channel memory but without an extreme price tag, then the PNY XLR8 6GB DDR3-1600 CL8 memory kit looks very promising. Priced at what looks to be the least expensive performance modules at this speed and latency, these XLR8 (read "accelerate") sticks appear to offer some excellent value. But, only if they have the dash for the cash; we know sometimes things are cheap for a reason. So, are these PNY modules a fantastic deal, or just plain cheap? Let's find out.
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ASRock Vision 3D System Review
Kitguru posted a review on the ASRock Vision 3D System

KitGuru has reviewed many pre built systems in recent months and we have made sure to cover all market sectors from extreme high end gaming to more modest HTPC creations. What if you want a media and gaming system capable of handling everything you throw at it while still maintaining the smallest possible footprint?

Today we might have the answer to that – the ASRock Vision 3D system which looks very attractive, both on paper and in the flesh. It comprises a fast 2.4ghz Intel Core i3 processor, Bluray Drive, 4GB of DDR3 memory and nVidia GT 425M graphics with full support for HDMI 1.4a output. The end user gets system wide hardware acceleration and 3D support for both Blu Ray and Nvidia 3d Vision gaming.
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Razer Nostromo Game Board Review
XSReviews have a review of Razer Nostromo Game Board.

Razer are a well known manufacturer of gaming peripherals, Belkin, not so much; they're more renowned for their routers and such. However, it seems the two firms have now banded together to sell a revamped and fancier looking version of the original Nostromo N52. While it doesn't appear to have changed much on the surface, let's see how it fairs in the contemporary gaming environment.
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G.Skill Trident DDR3-2500 4GB Review
Overclock3D have just published a new article titled: G.Skill Trident DDR3-2500 4GB Review

Memory speeds are rapidly increasing in the eternal power war. Today we look at the latest offering from G.Skill.
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Mionix Naos 3200 Gaming Mouse Review
OCModShop posted a review on the Mionix Naos 3200dpi Laser Gaming Mouse

Nearly everyone who uses a computer also lays their hands on a mouse most of the day. If you have your choice of hand-rodent, when why not get one that is suitable for both gaming and productivity, and has a great ergonomic feel? Many "gaming-grade" mice usually don't have the great ergonomics of a comfortable office mouse, but Mionix fills the void with their NAOS 3200dpi Laser Gaming Mouse.
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Radeon HD 5550 v. GeForce GT 430
InsideHW.com has compared ASUS Radeon HD 5500 and ASUS GeForce GT 430.

When you hear the expression “graphics card”, the first thing that probably comes to mind is beasts from the high price segment. Well, this time we'll deal with models that don't require you to spend hundreds of euros for a graphics card. The two Radeon HD 5550 models that we've received have little in common bar the same GPU. They are different in memory quantity and size, dimensions, frequencies, performance, and perhaps most importantly - target market. This interesting date was joined by the new GeForce GT 430, the weakest graphics card based on the Fermi architecture, one that we expected a lot from…
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AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz Socket AM3 6-Core Processor Review
PC Stats posted AMD Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2GHz Socket AM3 6-Core Processor Review

Code named 'Thuban', the new 3.2GHz AMD Phenom II X6 1090T processor introduces with it a dynamic overclocking technology called TurboCore. In typical computing situations AMD TurboCore will increase the speed of up to three of the Phenom II X6's CPU cores from 3.2GHz to 3.6GHz, while simultaneously increasing processor voltage and dropping the speed of the remaining three unloaded cores. The technology acts much like Intel TurboBoost and in benchmarks such as PCMark Vantage AMD TurboCore does result in a noticeable performance boost.
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TDK WR700 Headphones Review
t-break posted a review on the TDK WR700 Headphones

These are the wireless headphones you've been waiting for.
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