Pc-hardware
Written by Wingless92 Wednesday, 16 November 2011 05:16
A couple of months ago a friend came to me and asked about upgrading his machine. With his current rig running a Core2Duo, 3gb of RAM, Windows Vista 32bit, 2 Nvidia 9600GT's and a spinning hard disk. What he wanted was something that would boot quickly, handle his four monitors for stock trading and be an overall better PC. We had some work to do.Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 06 July 2011 16:24
Intel started 2011 off with the official introduction to their highly anticipated Sandy Bridge processors. We had the chance to take a look at their mid-range i5-2500k and we loved it. The i5-2500k isn’t perfect for everyone, that’s why Intel has introduced a range of processors. Today we will be taking a look at their i3-2100 and i7-2600 to see how they stand in the grand scheme of things. While we do, we will retest the i5-2500k and put the three head to head to find out what the extra money gets you.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 20 April 2011 21:46
When you think of Sapphire you think of video cards and more recently motherboards. Along with expanding into the motherboard market, today, Sapphire introduced its newest product the Edge-HD Mini PC. With a dual core Intel Atom D510 and a Nvidia ION 2 GPU the Edge HD could be a perfect HTPC or PC for light use. The Edge HD gets its name from its thin size; everything is packed in a form factor that is smaller than the average home router. Considering its contents, the size is very impressive!
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 26 January 2011 18:28
With internal Blu-Ray players starting to become normal and prices becoming very reasonable it’s no surprise that Plextor would look at other options to continue to grow their product line. They have had an external Blu-Ray drive for some time, but it would be hard to call it portable. With the introduction of the PX-B120U they could finally call their external Blu-Ray drive portable. Just like the PX-610U it doesn’t require external power making it much easier to take with you on the go. Let’s take a look and see if the PX-B120U is as portable as it looks.
Written by Lersar Wednesday, 29 September 2010 19:03
If you've been an avid reader of LanOC Reviews, the name Killer 2100 should be somewhat familiar. And if you follow hardware news and press releases, then you're probably as excited about this review as we are. Maybe it's because we've been the victims of automatic updates killing in-game performance too many times, or perhaps it's the idea of being able to control and prioritize applications that appeals so much to us as LAN party hosts. Whatever the reason, we've been covering BigFoot Networks and their Killer cards for quite some time now, anxiously awaiting our chance to try one out for ourselves. With the launch of the new Killer 2100 card, we finally received one to put to the LanOC test.Written by Nacelle Thursday, 26 August 2010 00:11
It's easy for us those of us that are PC enthusiasts to forget that not everyone has the inclination or know-how to build their own custom gaming computer. Most people just people just want to plug it in and play games, one of the reasons consoles do so well. But the current consoles are starting to show their age, which makes the PC more and more attractive. If you walk into the local brick and mortar, there's all kinds of computers, but none are all that good for gaming. This is where a good custom builder like CyberPower comes to the rescue. They sent along one of their "Back to School" builds to take a look at. Let see what they've got to offerWritten by Lersar Sunday, 11 July 2010 16:00
Being on both the host and attendee side of numerous LAN parties, portability becomes just as important as power. That conundrum, paired with being a full-time student, prompted me to purchase a custom built gaming laptop. My editor, however, took a different route, building a miniature 'LAN rig' the size of a lunchbox. That's when our testing lights flicked on: which is the better solution?
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 30 June 2010 18:20
We have taken a look at Shuttles small form factor barebones systems before, today we have the chance to take a look at their new J series chassis that is made specifically for budget builds. With the motherboard, PSU, and Case packaged together it’s no doubt that they have a low priced solution, but who would be interested? Outside of the obvious uses, I can’t help but wonder how good of a foundation that this will make for a budget LAN rig. I am going to use this as a base to build a rig that Adam will be testing more next week for our upcoming gaming on the go week. Let's jump in
Written by garfi3ld Thursday, 29 April 2010 19:00
With hard drive capacities continuing to grow and the popularity of Blu-Ray movies also growing the demand for Blu-Ray players and burners will continue to rise therefore driving the price down. Today I have the chance to take a look at the first Blu-Ray burner to come into LanOC Reviews, the PX940SA from Plextor. With a 12x Blu-Ray burn speed it should be quick, but will it be fast?
Written by Lersar Monday, 26 April 2010 19:00
When the PlayStation 3 first launched it was not only marketed as a game console but also a Blu-Ray Disc player which at the time may have justified its higher price when compared to its competitor consoles. But what once seemed like a a great value when compared to other Blu-Ray players which couldn't play video games may not seem so great now. Lite-On introduced an affordable Blu-Ray option to the PC, a gaming platform as old as the industry itself. For less than the price of a new retail PS3 title, you can now add Blu-Ray capabilities to your PC with the iHOS104. Today Lite-On has sent us one to test.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 27 January 2010 19:00
Thermaltake's Toughpower series of power supply's makes a big statement with its name. Oddly enough even though we have taken a look at a variety of their products we have never put the Toughpower line to the test to see how tough they really are. Today we have the chance to check out the Toughpower XT 750 watt power supply. Lets find out how it compares to other PSU's we have tested in the past.
Written by Lersar Friday, 08 January 2010 19:00
Cluster is an issue that any entertainment enthusiast can sympathisize with, especially gamers. The requirement for all the equipment involved in the modern gaming PC plus three cores console systems on the market, each with their own cords and controllers, trying to switch between mediums can truly be a pain. The frustration is that much more for gamers in the press world, attempting to capture screenshots and videos between all these mediums. If only there were some way to combine them all in one place, so TVs wouldn't need switched, cords wouldn't need swapped, and capturing a gaming experience wasn't such a chore. AVerMedia has answered the call with their Video Capture Card, and has sent us a sample to help spread the word.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 30 December 2009 00:58
A while back I took a look at a BluRay drive from Plextor, a well known manufacture in the disc drive market. Today I have the chance to take a look at another BluRay drive from them. This time we will be looking at the B320SA with a speed of 8X in comparison to the 6x speed of the B310SA I reviewed before. 2x doesn't seem like that drastic of a change but will it make a noticeable difference? Read more to find out.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 23 December 2009 19:00
Memory these days comes in just about every speed, shape, color and price. Recently we have taken a look at memory with LED's, and even memory with a platinum finish. Today I'm taking a look at a triple channel kit from Patriot from their Viper Series, designed specifically for i7 rigs. We are going to find out how well they performed compared to the kits we have tested in the past. Will the Viper Series come out on top?
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 09 December 2009 19:00
In the ram market there isn't any one manufacture who is top dog, but there are a few that stand out. One of the few manufactures that targets enthusiasts and benchmarkers is OCZ. They entered the memory market in August of 2000 hoping to make the best high performance memory; over nine years later they have grown to be one of the most successful enthusiast ram manufactures on the market. Recently they have been known for their SSD's but their memory is what started it all. Today I have the chance to take a look at one of their 1600Mhz Triple channel kits for the i7 platform. Read on to see how it performed.
Written by Lersar Wednesday, 07 October 2009 19:01
Multi-player game play has been a feature of video games that has seen as much of an evolution as the industry itself. It's existed since the early days of the Atari, but recently with the new wave of hardware and software advancements, we've seen both consumers and developers alike scrambling to put together the best multi-player experience possible. Partnered with new Internet connection speeds that are more readily available to the mass public than ever before, the possibilities are indeed endless.
Written by garfi3ld Thursday, 02 July 2009 00:01
![IMG_4780 [lr] [lrsm]](http://lanoc.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_4780-lr-lrsm.JPG "IMG_4780 [lr] [lrsm]")
With netbooks becoming very popular over the past year it's no surprise that the lack of a disc drive on them has come up a time or two. Our friends over at Plextor have been known for their amazing disc drives for some time, foreseeing the need for portable drives early this year they released the PX-610U. The PX-610U is available in both a PC and mac version with appropriate software and coloring to match each. The main feature of the PX-610U is its lack of an external power supply or multiple USB ports. Using a slim laptop drive Plextor hopes to of brought a solution for thoughts who are looking for easy to use and portable disc drives. Today I have the opportunity to check it out myself.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 01 July 2009 00:01
![IMG_4352[lr]](http://lanoc.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/IMG_4352lr-200x133.jpg "IMG_4352[lr]")
Desktop computers have an inherent flaw in that, short of custom modding jobs, most PCs end up looking fairly similar. Most cases are black and nondescript, with only a portion of people opting for case windows to show off their hardware. And if you have a store bought rig, forget creativity - there are thousands of people with the same exact computer. So the question is, what makes a specific build unique? What it boils down too are all the little features and touches that the end consumer may opt for over one another. Accessories play a large part of this picture. One person might decide they need a fan controller, whereas another might have a use for an all in one memory card reader. In the end these people are able to claim difference from one another in form and function. VFDs are one of the more interesting computer accessories, providing visual information via a small screen. This is not unlike having a small monitor attached to your computer at all times. Its worthy to note that the term VFD actually is an acronym for the technology used in older devices, and has become a catch-all term for them in general. Most newer VFDs actually utilize LCD technology for a crisper viewing experience. Many case manufacturers include mediocre old VFDs with their htpc cases but quality new ones usually have to be purchased separately. SilverStone makes such a VFD, the MFP51 LCD Media Display, which they kindly sent to us to try out...
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 09 June 2009 12:09
For years the idea of video conferencing and video phones was only a pipe dream or a prop in low budget Sci-Fi films. When the internet came around this dream started to become a reality but with many limitations. More recently the idea of video phones has gained a little more traction with the inclusion of microphones and web cams on almost every laptop and some home pc's (in fact I type this right now on a low budget netbook with the features needed to do this). Of course not everyone has this ability and this is where Microsoft comes in with their LifeCam series, specifically the VX-5500. With programs like MSN(windows) messenger and Skype along with the VX-5500 you have the ability to let people see you while they talk (of course this depends on if they really want to see you). Today I'm going to take a look at the VX-5500 to see how it performs at home and on the go to keep in touch with friends and family.
Written by garfi3ld Friday, 05 June 2009 00:16
We've come to a day and age where having just one hard drive, regardless of its size, just isn't enough. Whether its a media, gaming, or task computer, multiple hard drives have become a necessity. In non-transparent cases, this isn't much of a problem, but for those who are lookng to show-off their rig all those SATA cables can become as unappealing as any other. A reasonable solution is adding UV lights to any case, which can be paired with VIZO's Starlet line, in our case the UV reactant SATA cables.
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