Archive for Computer Components

Luxeed LED keyboard hits the U.S.

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on August 5th, 2008

Luxeed LED keyboard hits the U.S.
The Luxeed multi-color LED keyboard is pretty awesome looking, but it’s been impossible to get outside Korea until now. Thanks to the folks over at ThinkGeek, you can bring one home. The keyboard is powered by 430 individual colored LEDs, which can all be sequenced using the included Windows software.

You can make any of your own colorful keyboard creations and it’s available in a black or white for $199.99 each. If you want a numeric keypad, it will cost an additional $34.99 to get one with no LEDs. It’s not the Optimus Maximus, but should make typing fun again. Check out a video below.

GMC Noblesses K-2 Ebony ATX case

Posted in Cases by Conner Flynn on July 31st, 2008

GMC Noblesses K-2 Ebony ATX case
Korean manufacturer GMC recently unveiled the somewhat sexy Noblesses K-2 EBONY ATX case that comes with some pretty cool features, like an integrated media panel with Soundgraph iMEDIA HD support.

The case also displays your computer’s health by giving you info on fan speed, CPU temp, system temp, etc. But the main thing is that it sports those features and at the same time doesn’t look horrible. It will give you all of the info you could possibly want right there.

Thanko Cooler USB Keyboard

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on July 25th, 2008

Thanko Cooler USB Keyboard
The way I see it, if sweaty palms are a problem for you, you can either keep a rosin bag next to your keyboard like Baseball pitchers use or you can get yourself a keyboard with air vents. Thanko has just such a keyboard, so stop being nervous and sweating through your hands already.

The Thanko Cooler USB keyboard works just like those bowling lane machines, with air vents to keep your hands dry. The built-in fan has a switch so you can turn it off whenever you don’t need it. Not sure how loud it is, but it will cost you $62.

Corsair claims title for fastest DDR3 RAM available

Posted in Computer Components by Shane McGlaun on July 25th, 2008

Corsair Dominator DDR3 RAMDDR3 RAM has been around for a while and enthusiast and gamers have been able to take advantage of DDR3 Ram with Intel chipsets for a while. With the 790i Ultra mainboard fans of NVIDIA chipsets could finally take advantage of DDR3. DDR3 RAM runs at speeds that DDR2 can only dream about and DDR3 is getting faster all the time.

Corsair has launched a new product in the Dominator DDR3 line with the part number TW3X2G2133C9DF. The kit includes two 1GB sticks of RAM that is verified to run at 2133MHz on 790i mainboards. The RAM also includes an Airflow Fan for better cooling.

NZXT does up nice new budget gamer PC chassis

Posted in Cases by Nino Marchetti on July 24th, 2008

NZXT Guardian 921

NZXT puts out some pretty cool computer chassis products and related components. Its latest - the NZXT Guardian - continues that coolness factor for around $90.

The NZXT Guardian 921, geared towards gamers, comes with a nice feature set for being focused towards more budget oriented computer users. It is built from .88mm and 1mm steel and offers decent space on the inside, allowing for larger video cards as well as up to four internal hard drives. It also has a three temperature probe monitoring system so you don’t melt down your components during overclocking.

Optimus Pultius with 15 keys

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on July 22nd, 2008

Optimus Pultius with 15 keys
The folks behind the Optimus keyboard never sleep do they? This time around it’s the Optimus Pultius with just 15 keys. It’s designed to be a peripheral that enhances your keyboard setup rather then a keyboard all by itself.

The Pultius will have tiny OLEDs on each key which will depict small logos to go with the key function and an extra usb port on back. It’s slated to be released at the end of this year or early 2009. No word on pricing yet.

Kinesis ergonomic keyboards double as bookends

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on July 21st, 2008

Kinesis ergonomic keyboards double as bookends
Kinesis has dropped a pair of new accessories that will make their Freestyle keyboards more ergonomic. You be the judge. The Freestyle V3 accessory clips beneath the base of the keyboard and gives you three different slope settings, while the Freestyle Ascent Multi-tent will let you set each half in ten degree increments all the way up to 90 degrees. It will lock them in at the desired distance apart from one another and could probably let you use your keyboard as bookends if you wanted. The V3 costs $25 and the Ascent comes in at a whopping $200. Great way to play with your keyboard and type sideways.

“Mac-like” AOC 2218Ph display dances that marketing jig

Posted in Displays by Nino Marchetti on July 21st, 2008

AOC 2218Ph

AOC earlier this month rolled out a new 22-inch display which the maker things will give your PC a bit of that old Mac touch. It is called the AOC 2218Ph and pricing is said to be around $430.

The AOC 2218Ph sports “state-of-the-art metallic workmanship, piano-black bezel, polished aluminum cabinet and zinc multi-flex stand.” If that doesn’t jump up and make you say “that looks like a Mac!” than we don’t know what will. Seriously though, the 2218Ph looks pretty cool, even if the marketing is somewhat flawed.

Matrix Regenerator PC case mod

Posted in Cases by Conner Flynn on July 20th, 2008

Matrix Regenerator PC case mod
I know for a fact that several nerds just crapped themselves looking at the picture above. This monstrosity is a PC Case Mod designed around the Matrix Regenerator. Some specs: Pentium 4 3.2, MSI 875P Neo Mainboard, a Solarism 17″ LCD Monitor LM1730, 1 GB Corsair CMX512 3200LL, Crucial Radeon 9800 Pro 256, and more.

It’s really a highly detailed work of art. From the creator “The Matrix: Regenerator project is the second in a series of two case mods based on The Matrix movies. The first project, The Matrix: Rebirth 8.0 was a recreation of the scene where machines are breeding humans for their electric power. Regenerator will show the second stage in that breeding process, where adult humans are plugged in to their power plants, dreaming their dream within the Matrix and providing power for the machines.”

Laptop Magazine Tests OCZ Core Series SSDs

Posted in Computer Components, SSD, Storage by Shane McGlaun on July 18th, 2008

OCZ Core SATA SSD TestedEarly this month OCZ announced its Core Series SSDs that brought pricing for SSD drives to significantly lower levels. Granted the SSDs in the Core series are still more than standard hard drives, but the savings compared to other SSDs on the market is very significant.

Laptop Magazine got its hands on a 64GB Core Series SSD and ran some tests to see how well the cut price SSD stacks up to more expensive SSDs and normal hard drives. The average read rate for the Core SSD was 112.4MBps and it had an average seek time of 1ms on Sisoft Sandra tests. HD Tach showed that the drive had an average read score of 89.5MBps and a seek time of 0.5ms.

Das Ultimate Keyboard has no letters

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on July 14th, 2008

Das Ultimate Keyboard has no letters
Think you know your way around the keyboard keys blindfolded? Want to look cool to those around you? Why not type away on a keyboard that’s completely blank, with no numbers or letters. Your co-workers will marvel at your skills.

The Das Ultimate Keyboard is designed to be one of the fastest keyboards available with honest to god German-engineered gold-plated mechanical switches, but if you need to look while typing, you won’t be breaking any speed records. The Das Ultimate keyboard normally retails for $129, but if you pre-order now you can grab one for just $99.

Team Fortress 2 sentry case mod looks deadly

Posted in Cases by Conner Flynn on July 14th, 2008

Team Fortress 2 sentry case mod looks deadly
Master modder TiTON’s latest Team Fortress mod recreates a TF2 sentry. Less deadly, but very impressive. It might even be too pretty to use. This life size Valve-inspired mod is simply awesome. This one is impressive enough, but he plans on building a teleporter pad to accompany the set, and also a Windows Vista Sideshow-enabled touchscreen attachment disguised as a Sapper.

Some specs include: EVGA e-7150 / 630i Motherboard, Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 CPU, EVGA GeForce 9600 GT Graphics Card, 4GB Crucial Tracer PC2-6400 DDR2 Memory, Silverstone Strider 650W Modular PSU, Silverstone NT06 Lite CPU cooler w/ 120mm Fan, and 160GB Seagate Momentus Notebook Hard Drive. Hit the link for an in depth construction guide.

Solar powered Buffalo wireless keyboard

Posted in Keyboards by Conner Flynn on July 9th, 2008

Solar powered Buffalo wireless keyboard
Buffalo introduced their new BSKBW01SB solar powered wireless keyboard. It features a small and adjustable solar panel just above the number pad so you can better capture the sun’s sweet nectar. Maybe there’s only one tiny ray hitting your cubicle, if you get the right angle, you have power baby!

It also runs on batteries just in case you live in Alaska. It’s got 17 hot keys, does it’s thing in the 2.4 Ghz frequency and will give you a range of 10 meters. The keyboard will go on sale in Japan by mid July at a price of $135. You may be saving power, but not money.

Hitachi expands “Tera Era” with a more efficient 1TB drive

Posted in Hard Drives by Darrin Olson on July 9th, 2008

Hitachi launches more energy efficient 1Tb internal hard drive with the Deskstar 7K1000.BIf you were excited when Hitachi came out with the first 1TB internal hard drive early last year then be prepared to be just slightly more excited. Hitachi today introduced that same 1TB Deskstar drive but now using 43% less power consumption, naming it the Deskstar 7K1000.B.

The “.B” means that you can buy this whopping internal hard drive with less concern that it’s going to sit there and suck loads more power than your old 80GB drive, which it will, but not as much as it used to according to Hitachi. The drive is actually available in sizes from 160GB up to the largest 1TB capacity.

Viewsonic delivers new 26-inch 1080p display

Posted in Displays by Nino Marchetti on July 3rd, 2008

ViewSonic VA2626wm

ViewSonic earlier this week unveiled a new wide format monitor which it is targeting towards those who enjoy media on their PCs. It is called the ViewSonic VA2626wm and pricing is said to be around $530.

The ViewSonic VA2626wm is a 26-inch display which offers 1080p HD support and multiple inputs, including HDMI, VGA and DVI with HDCP compatibility. It also has integrated into the body 2.5-inch dual stereo speakers with SRS WOW HD technology.





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