There was a time when most computer cases looked alike and there was no discerning difference between them. While they were functional, in the aspect that they housed the components that made up a computer, they weren't very pleasing aesthetically. A group of enthusiasts started modding these plain-jane cases into functional works of art. Expressing their creative side and screaming that they wanted more from the manufactures than just a beige case. Lexan windows, LED modded fans, water cooling features were all hand built at the time. Flash forward about a decade and the landscape for computer cases has vastly changed. The aforementioned features now come standard on most, if not all computer cases and they still perform the same basic function: house the components that make up a PC.
Building a crazy gaming rig is not something everyone can handle. One of the biggest constrains in building top of the like pc is of course cash. Depending on what you really want your system do, it could come up to be a rather expensive project. No matter what your budget is you always want to start with the CPU. CPU speed is incredibly important and well the faster the better. So once you have chosen your CPU its time to think about cooling it. Let's face it, it is crucial to keep your cpu temps as low as possible. For a gamer pc it would definitely be a challenge. Today's gamer is your average over clocker and they push their hardware to the limit on every occasion they can get. Today we are going to be taking a look newest generation of CPU cooling by Thermal Take, Water 2.0 Pro and Performer. A big thank you goes to TT for providing us with these incredible, self sustained cooling units. Water 2.0 has been designed to support a wide range of CPU sockets with focus on bringing and keeping temperatures as low as possible no matter what are the circumstances. Let's spend some time taking a look at Water 2.0. Promise not to bore you:)
Now a days we are all trying to save some cash by looking for "on the budget" options in pretty much everything we do. The economy is horrible and spending wisely is a right way to go. If you are looking in to the computer speaker then you have probably looked all over the place to get the best product for the right price. There is a large number of manufacturers which target computer speaker market and finding the right one could definitely be a challenge. Today we have a privilege to take a look at one of the newest computer speakers on the market by Arctic, Sound S161. Sound S161 is a 2.1 multimedia speaker system which includes a simple set up and a sub woofer. Lets take some time to take a look at this unit as we feel it won't be disappointing.
When it comes to storage, everyone wants a little bit more of it. Regardless of the gadget, we all could use a little bit more storage for sharing and streaming. If you bought an iPad 16gb and ran out of storage, then you will be searching for a new ways to have your data available for you when ever you need it. Today we are going to be taking a look at one of the newest gadgets by Kingston, Wi-Drive. Wi-Drive is a wireless storage device which offers various capacities to is users via WiFi. This particular gadget is also designed to share your content between other devices/people. How cool is that? We thought the same! Let's take some time to take a look at Wi-Drive and see what it's all about.
Evolution in technology is inevitable and as technology evolves so does the components that make up said components. As processor technology evolves, we pack more and more transistors in continuously shrinking packages as well as increasing the speed of the processors. Increase in speed leads to increased heat production. Heat kills components. Thus there is the never ending battle between heat and speed. Keeping that speed demon of a CPU cool is not an easy task. Both Intel and AMD offer a slightly adequate cooler in the boxed verions of their processors. While those coolers may keep the temps just under the max temperature set by the manufacture, I repeat heat kills. Aftermarket coolers have been around for quite some time and by my estimations they are not going away any time soon. One such company that manufactures aftermarket coolers, as well as a vast array of other aftermarket items, is ThermalTake. Today we are going to put the FRIO Advanced through the paces.
The Plantronics GameCom 780 is one of the hottest headsets for PC Gaming on the market right now. It uses Dolby technology to transform all audio into a 7.1 suround sound experience. In other words, it takes your standard 2 channel stereo and turns in to a 7 channel full range virtual sound sound experience. The headset prides itself, not only on the sound, but also on the design, comfort and durability of it all.
Last month, CMStorm released the Quick Fire Pro which is definitely a great keyboard but provided me wrist discomfort at angled positions, not for everyone though. The CMStorm Quick Fire Pro was ultimately a top quality gaming keyboard with all the bells and whistles. In fact, the NKRO feature is very useful during game play and added quality to the keys. The CMStorm Quick Fire Pro is priced perfectly for the gaming category, only $99.99. Though, how great a keyboard can be, it has to be precise and comfortable during game play for users because of constant control and erroneous key strokes to avoid death. Today, I passed the keyboard over to my epic sister, which has been playing mmo games even before me. 
The sunny weather is here again in California with just a few more rain drops here and there. Most of us are preparing for the heat once again, seriously, I'm just wondering if it will get hot enough to just melt away the northern ice caps this year? Only because of 2012 Mayan calendar and multiple solar flares have been trying to reach us every month or so. Let's brace ourselves and be prepared, I know most of us need to keep things cool this time of the year, especially me. Personally at home and work, I have lots of computers and live aquatics, my nemesis is heat. In seasons like this one, people look for AC, Fans, Ice Packs, Freezer Mugs, etc... Just name it; there is plenty of cool stuff to buy. 
Building a new gaming rig? Then you must of thought of what you are going to use as a hard drive. Now a days you have a lot of choices for storage. Most users seek performance and others storage. It is very hard to find a combination of both. Solid State Drives are always popular and they come with a hefty price tag. Today we are going to be taking a look at the newest SSD from Kingston, HyperX. A big thanks to Kingston for providing us with this unit. After spending few hours with HyperX 240GB, we strongly feel it has lots to offer and a very reasonable price. Let's take a closer look at HyperX 240GB to see its features and all that it has to offer.
Just a few months ago, there was the latest release from Cooler Master which was the Quick Fire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard. There were plenty of reviews out there and many complained about the missing 10 numerical keys, fading letters, back lighting, macro keys, media keys, and manual switching keys. The CMSTORM Quick Fire Rapid is a great gaming keyboard with most of the missing favorable keys.