Hardware News

Corsair Carbide Air 540 ATX Cube Case Review‏

June 20, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


eTeknix have reviewed the brand new Corsair Carbide Air 540 ATX cube case, which is a very unique design split into two compartments.

Let's see what they had to say:

"The two compartment design is seriously cool and while it does bring many practical benefits such as a cavernous area for cable management and hidden HDD bays, I really don’t care, what I really care about is how clean the front section of the chassis looks and having radiators, graphics cards and a motherboard, with nothing bulky blocking the view, it’s a real treat for the eyes and something I’m sure will prove popular with system builders, case modders and those who love to show off their systems.

Corsair has brought many exciting cases to market with their Carbide series and the Air 540 is easily my favourite of the range. If you’re looking for something a little out of the norm, has extensive cooling capabilities and you’ve got a desk space to accommodate it, then the Corsair Air 540 is a great choice for your system."


This is a pretty awesome case, and I'm glad to see Corsair expanding into new and different form factors.

Click here to read the full review.

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GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 780 WindForce 3X OC Review

June 20, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


Hardware Canucks‏ have reviewed the high performance Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 WindForce OC graphics card, which features a custom cooler and overclocked specifications.

Let's see what they had to say:

"In a market that’s quickly becoming saturated by board partners vying for a segment shrinking in popularity, everyone has to bring their A-game to the table. That’s exactly what Gigabyte has done with the GTX 780 WindForce OC. It is an excellent all-round graphics card that offers TITAN-like performance and quiet operation without requiring a significant premium over the reference version. To us, that’s a winning combination that renders NVIDIA’s flagship nearly redundant at certain resolutions."


Like past WindForce OC models, this is a very impressive high-end graphics card and it's arguably worth the price premium over reference models.

Click here to read the full review.

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Creative Sound Blaster Z Sound Card Video Review‏

June 20, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


HardwareHeaven have posted a video review of the flagship Creative Sound Blaster Z sound card, which features the multi-core Sound Core3D audio processor and beamforming microphone functionality.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Today Kaeyi Dream takes a look at the Sound Blaster Z from Creative. Be sure to check out Kaeyi's YouTube channel for more of her personal videos, and subscribe to the HardwareHeaven channel to keep up-to-date with our video reviews."


This is pretty decent new sound card from Creative. It's nice to see them create something brand new to compete with the likes of the ASUS Xonar range.

Click here to read the full review.


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Corsair Vengeance K70 Gaming Keyboard Review

June 20, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


Guru3D have posted a review of the Vengeance K70 mechanical gaming keyboard, which features Cherry MX Red key switches, anti-ghosting technology, and red LED back-lighting.

Let's see what they had to say:

"That said, we already liked the K60 and k90, so we can only acknowledge that the Vengeance K70 is the logical evolution of the two. Again, mechanical keyboards are aimed at gamers and you do need to keep that in mind. The K70 is very mature and very feature rich. It has a nice base that sits tight on your desktop with rubber feet and quite a hefty keyboard weight. We like the rubberized swappable WASD & 1~6 keys and that back-lighting system is just downright hot stuff. So with all factors and features combined we again recommend the K70 to the masses of FPS player out there. If you need programmable keys, then be on the lookout for the new K95 which has many G keys. Overall it's a sturdy design as well, typing on it immediately gives you the feel that the product can take beating alright."


Corsair continues to make some of the very best gaming peripherals on the market.

Click here to read the full review.

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ASUS Radeon HD 7970 3GB Matrix Platinum Edition Review

June 20, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


X-bit Labs have posted a review of the enthusiast-oriented ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum Edition graphics card, which features a huge triple-slot custom cooler and overclocked specifications.

Here's what they had to say:

"The ASUS ROG Matrix 7970 is not just the fastest AMD-based single-GPU graphics card. It is a functional and feature-rich tool that can serve you to achieve record-breaking performance in various tests and benchmarks. The Choice of Champions slogan is applied to this graphics card most appropriately. It does offer infinite capabilities for champion overclockers.

It features a 20-phase power system with Super Alloy Power technology. It lets you adjust all voltages. It supports full-featured monitoring of each parameter via the VGA Hotwire interface. It is equipped with a highly efficient cooler with a special max-speed mode. It has a replaceable heatsink on its power components for better cooling. And it supports up to six monitors concurrently."


This new Matrix model is definitely one of the best Radeon HD 7970's on the market.

Click here to read the full review.


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Antec HCG-750M 750W Power Supply Review

June 19, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


PC Perspective have posted a review of the new Antec HCG-750M 750W modular power supply, which is 80PLUS Bronze certified and features a 5 year warranty.

Let's see what they had to say:

"Antec just launched the new High Current Gamer M line so they are not widely available yet (we were only able to locate them in just 4 online stores globally) so you can expect their prices to drop even further. Right now however judging solely by the few stores we did find carrying it the HCG-750M comes at a retail price tag set around 160USD inside the USA and 130Euros inside the EU. Of course as usual the competition is fierce on most price segments but in the end there aren't really that many manufacturers currently in the market one can trust like Antec (5 years warranty is also something not many have in their mid-end PSUs). Regarding the HCG-750M its performance is very good, it's almost inaudible even at full load (and then some), the LED fan is a nice touch (especially since there's also a LED on/off switch present) and the price tag is not half bad so naturally it walks away with our Golden Award in hand."


While this is a solid power supply, I would choose the Corsair AX760i instead since it's priced the same but features even better performance.

Click here to read the full review.

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NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller Review

June 19, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


PureOverclock have reviewed the affordable yet powerful NZXT Sentry Mix 2 fan controller, which features 6 channels and supports 30W per channel.

Here's what they had to say:

"I believe NZXT has done a great job with not only the new look, but also the performance. The Sentry Mix 2 Fan controller has again exceeded my expectations. Along with its excellent build quality and the much appreciated face lift, it is now much more appealing. What still stands out are the easy to use sliders to control fan speeds, the five lighting options and the incredibly long well sleeved cables which are sequentially numbered for excellent cable management."


This is a very good fan controller for the money, a nice improvement over the previous generations.

Click here to read the full review.

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M Mobility Performance Testing‏

June 19, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


PC Perspective have reviewed the high-end NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M mobility GPU, which is based on the Kepler die, features 1536 CUDA cores, and up to 4GB of GDDR5 attached to a 256-bit memory bus.

Here's an excerpt:

"The new GeForce GTX 780M from NVIDIA is easily the fastest currently available mobile GPU and it beats the AMD Radeon HD 7970M by 13-32% in average frame rate depending on the game we tested. The biggest advantages were found in Metro Last Light and Skyrim. Skyrim is an interesting case study in that the GTX 780M also showed significantly more consistent frame times than the HD 7970M resulting in a smoother experience as well. The GTX 780M did encounter more hitches in Bioshock Infinite though."


This is the pinnacle of mobile graphics at the moment, so check it out if you're planning on buying a high-end desktop replacement notebook.

Click here to read the full review.


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Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3-2133 64GB Memory Kit Review‏

June 19, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


hardCoreware have reviewed the high performance and humongous Kingston HyperX Beast DDR3-2133 64GB (8x8GB) memory kit, which has timings of 11-12-11 at 1.65V.

Let's see what they had to say:

"The Kingston HyperX Beast 64GB is beastly in every way imaginable. 64GB of system memory means that not only do you never need to worry about running out, you actually have quite a bit extra left over for useful tricks like RAM partitions and such. Running at 2133 MHz CL11, this kit nearly hit 50 GB/s in benchmarks, with latency around 23ns. The only question might be if it’s worth dropping around $600 on memory. The answer is entirely up to you – nobody NEEDS this much memory, but when you have it, you will be glad for it."


This is impressive kit, but it's obviously overkill for anyone but those who run professional programs.

Click here to read the full review.



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GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5 Z87 LGA1150 Motherboard Review

June 19, 2013 - Patrick "MACMAC" MacMillan


eTeknix have reviewed the recently released GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 5 motherboard, which is based on the Intel Z87 chipset and supports the new Intel 'Haswell' LGA1150 processors.

Let's see what they had to say:

"If you are wanting to move up to a Z87 motherboard and get a taste of Haswell without skimping on anything, the G1.Sniper 5 is definitely for you with a feature set that is hard to beat and colour scheme that will certainly stand out, the board appeals to everyone. Watercooling option and extreme overclockability is high on its profile list and for extreme gamers wanting 4-way SLI action, the Sniper 5 won’t disappoint. An all-rounder that may be aimed at gamers but will see other markets wanting a slice of the action."


If you are planning on building the ultimate gaming system, this motherboard should definitely be at the top of your list...if you don't mind the 'loud' colour scheme.

Click here to read the full review.

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