Corsair Blog

At CES 2010 Intel launched their new Clarkdale Core i3 and Core™ i5 32nm CPU lineup with an IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor) on the CPU as well as the H55/H57 chipset to support the new CPUs with IGP. The new lineup consists of dual core processors with Hyper Threading for a total of four threads. With the exception for the Core i5 661, the new 32nm Core i3 and Core i5 processors are rated at a mere 73 Watts max TDP.

Normally a die shrink such as the one Intel did to achieve 32nm processors allows processors to run cooler, overclock further, and use less power. Intel also cut power usage by efficiently cutting power to the core while in an idle state and retaining the data in SRAM.

The Core i3 530 has a price tag of just over $100 and a frequency of 2930 MHz. Let’s see just how far this budget-minded CPU can be overclocked.

Our friend Vince Lucido (AKA K|ngp|n) of Kingpin Cooling has just launched a new liquid nitrogen/dry ice memory cooler made specifically for our Dominator™ and Dominator™ GT memory modules. Talk about extreme! To celebrate this product launch, Vince is hosting a contest. The winner will receive three Corsair Dominator™ GT GTX2 DDR3 memory modules, and his brand new memory cooler. The pictures of this cooler are pretty impressive. Click here for more information about the contest and its rules.

The glowing reviews for the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D full-tower case continue to roll in. Maximum PC just gave us a 9 out of 10, and a Kick Ass! award in their March 2010 issue:

"Although the Thermaltake Level 10 (reviewed Holiday 2009) turned the heads of nearly everyone who saw it, including non-enthusiasts, every enthusiast who came into our Lab was more excited by the Corsair 800D. It’s enormous, well built, and crammed with power-user features."

Click here for a PDF version of the review.

I'm very happy to relay that Fry's Electronics has begun carrying the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D full-tower case at many of their locations. This is an impressive feat, as Fry's generally doesn't carry PC chassis that retail for more than about $200. It's simply a floor space issue; mass-market PC cases below $200 tend to sell in higher volumes, and Fry's, like most retailers, tries to carry a mix of products that will move a lot of volume.

The 800D has enjoyed a reception from both the press and customers that's been nothing short of phenomenal. It seems that many prospective customers have been asking for it at their local Fry's Electronics location. This interest has made its way to Fry's management, and they've agreed to carry the 800D on a trial basis at 14 of their locations. Some of these locations were chosen by Fry's because those are the stores where they've gotten the most requests from customers. Most of the trial stores are in Texas. The 800D is a pretty large case, so I'll let you go ahead and make the "everything's bigger in Texas" joke.

I often get asked why we go through the effort to certify our ultra-high-speed memory with Intel's XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) program. After all, the conventional wisdom states, most high end overclockers don't use XMP profiles to overclock, but head straight for every BIOS setting they can get their hands on.

True enough, I guess. However, the goals of the overclocker and the goals of Corsair are similar, but not exactly the same. The goal of the overclocker is to tweak his system up to the very level where fear of instability outweighs the thrill of competition. Indeed, I suspect that most overclockers tweak their system beyond that level, and then back off slightly.

This is an issue that I've come across a few times since I got into this business—I want to improve my desktop's performance, but I don't want to be bothered with re-installing my operating system which is the recommended procedure when you change your motherboard. So, what else can I do?

In this video, we outline upgrades that you can make to your machine without having to bother with a fresh operating system install. The result? A cooler, faster machine moved over to the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D, which has plenty of room for future upgrades. Check it out!

For CES 2010, we threw a party at Club LAVO in the Palazzo. Thanks to all our friends and partners for attending!

Click on any image for a full sized picture...

Legit Reviews posted their Best of 2009 Hardware Awards today and Corsair received awards in two categories; Best Computer Case and Best Water Cooling Kit! Here's what they had to say about the Corsair Obsidian Series™ 800D full-tower chassis:  

Corsair had been hard at work developing a new chassis long before their frist chassis was released in August of 2009. This chassis wasn't a clone of an existing case, but rather a new design from the ground up that was aimed at computer enthusiasts. When we reviewed the chassis in August of 2009, we found that this full size tower was massive, but we fell in love with the space, appearance and functionality.

The case was delayed a number of times and even had to go through a slight re-design right when it was launched, but the end product is spectacular to say the least. We liked the Obsidian 800D so much, that we gave the case the innovation award when we reviewed it this summer.

Solid-state drives have been around in one form or another for quite some time, but it’s only in the last 18-24 months that they have really started to come into their own for mainstream consumers and enthusiasts. In fact, 2009 could be viewed as the year that SSD really ‘arrived’, and 2010 is going to be even better.

The interest and excitement surrounding solid-state drives is well-founded, because they have the capability to totally transform your PC’s performance. That may sound like a bold statement, but replacing your conventional, mechanical hard disk drive with a Corsair Performance Series or Extreme Series solid-state drive is one of the most beneficial upgrades you can make, right up there with a new CPU or doubling your RAM.