Thinking about building a rig using AMD's new Llano platform? Well, our old friend and overclocking maniac, Dino has produced an overclocking guide that is so good, we asked him if we could repost it here.
Summer is over, and I thought it was just about time to cut some weight for the leaner, tighter body everyone is after. I don’t mean me — I am talking about my home gaming computer. It’s been about to two years since I got my Obsidian Series® 800D, and what an amazing full-tower case it is, but I think it's time for a refresh. I'm looking for something lighter, smaller and a little more stylish, so I set my sights set on the Special Edition White Graphite Series™ 600T computer case. While am at it, I'll give the old gaming rig some upgraded hardware with a Force Series™ 3 60GB SSD and 12GB Dominator memory upgrade kit. Keep in mind this build isn’t going to be the ultimate performance machine, but it will be pretty to look at and show case the versatility of the 600T case with some minor mods for water cooling.
The Hydro Series™ H80 and H100 CPU coolers both have an integrated push button on the top of the cooling unit which controls the cooling performance. It allows you to easily switch between three cooling performance profiles. The first mode is quiet mode which allows for quiet operating. If you want better cooling performance you can hit the button which will select the balanced profile. This profile is increases the noise level slightly but gives better cooling performance. Finally, you have the performance profile for the best performance, this profile is the loudest.
In this video I demonstrate some of the features of our brand new Carbide Series™ 400R gaming PC case by setting it up with some high performance hardware. The Carbide 400R packs in a lot of features for a modest price, such as rubber cable routing grommets, tool-less drive installation, and even an on/off button for the LEDs on the two 120mm intake fans which come with the case. I also installed one of the longest graphics cards on the market, the ATI 5970, to show how much room is available inside, and in addition I point out where each of the 10 fan mounting locations are. Not only does the Carbide Series 400R look great, but it’s also incredibly builder friendly! Take a look at the video to see for yourself!
Last Wednesday we showed our new Vengeance Gaming lineup to the North American press in San Francisco. The next day we did the same thing in the UK with the European press. The feedback and coverage we got on our new Vengeance gaming mice and keyboards, as well as our new Vengeance gaming headsets was so incredible we decided to share the highlights with you in this special coverage round-up:
AnandTech — Corsair Enters the Gaming Keyboard & Mouse Market with Vengeance, "I had some brief hands on time with all of the newly announced Vengeance peripherals, they all felt good but it'll take much longer than a short play session to really evaluate these things. I'm mostly curious to see how well these things do in the hands of hardcore gamers. Does Corsair have what it takes to pull customers away from the likes of Logitech, Microsoft and Razer?"
Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions about Corsair's Vengeance Gaming Keyboards and Vengeance Gaming Mice.
A: In our opinion, yes. The issue is mechanical switch vs rubber dome key technology. Both can have similar performance characteristics, even similar durability. But it is very difficult, but not impossible, to make a rubber dome key switch with the feel and actuation of a mechanical key switch.
Q: Does the Corsair Gaming keyboards have anti-ghosting capability?A: Yes, 100% ghost free.
Q: Does it support N-key rollover?It goes without saying that some system builds are more fun than others. This is especially true when I know that I am going to get to do some extensive “testing” with it when I’m done as opposed to shipping it off to a tradeshow or LAN party. This build log is certainly no exception and may well be the most fun rig I have built since I’ve been employed here at Corsair. I built it to be a strong workstation, but I expect my testing to show that it will be excellent for gaming and multimedia also.
Hardware Secrets, Hydro Series™ H80 CPU Cooler Review — "The Corsair H80 is a great liquid cooling solution. It reached one of the best performances we saw on all air coolers and sealed watercoolers that we tested so far. It is also not too loud, maintaining the noise at an acceptable level even at full speed."
Mad Shrimps, Hydro Series H80 CPU Cooler Review — "With the Hydro 80 Corsair has raised the bar again on their all in one cooling solution product line. Too bad I couldn't put it up against the Antec 920 solution. The latter being in fact just a beefed up/revised version of the previous Corsair/Asetek lineup. The improvements in the radiator design allow for better cooling and less generated noise than the Hydro 70. Performance wise, depending on the used profile you get similar or slightly better performance than any of the single rad Hydros. The little single fan Hydro 50/60 are no match for it's beefier and bigger brothers."
Techgage, Hydro Series H80 CPU Cooler Review — "At ~$90 from various online retailers, you'll pay for the performance that you gain. Is it worth the extra money on top of the H70 or other high-end air coolers? You bet! Not only does it provide what amounts to a ton of extra performance when talking about CPU coolers, but it's incredibly quiet and expandable thanks to the Link system - there is no doubt in my mind that the price premium is warranted.
Performance, build quality, functionality and low noise levels all create a remarkable piece of kit that any enthusiast should be tripping over themselves to buy."
Hexus, Hydro Series H80 CPU Cooler and Hydro Series H100 CPU Cooler Review — "In terms of overall performance, both the KÜHLER 920 and Hydro H80 are difficult to separate. The thick-radiator, dual-fan configurations deliver similar results at a similar price, but Corsair's solution - with a thinner rad, three built-in fan profiles and Corsair Link expandability, is arguably more evolved.
However, at these prices, performance is what matters most, and - provided you have the room - the Hydro H100 is undoubtedly the best-performing cooler we've ever tested. Making use of a large 240mm radiator, the Hydro H100 is capable of shifting plenty of heat in either of its three cooling modes, and support for up to four fans and Corsair Link provides a useful upgrade path, too."
KitGuru, Hydro Series H100 CPU Cooler Review — "The Noctua NH D14 has been the highest performing 'mainstream' enthusiast level cooler now for around a year. None of the liquid coolers or flagship heatsinks have managed to oust it from the top spot and we were beginning to wonder if it was possible. Until today.
The Corsair H100 is without question the highest performing all in one cooler on the market, outperforming the D14 by around a single degree under full, overclocked load. Obviously some test results might vary a little, but the only way to test these coolers is to crank then to the limit with the hottest running CPU on the market today – Intel's Core i7 990X."
Tweak Town, Hydro Series H100 CPU Cooler Review — "In the end I have to go with my gut! Corsair offers one serious option to those who can't afford, or may not want the hassle of planning and mechanical ability needed to build said loop. Looking at it in the broad spectrum, the H100 offers custom water cooling results for less than half the price. Even for those looking for aftermarket cooling to everything in their build, this $100 cooler and just about any aftermarket GPU cooler on the market at $80 or less is still leaving you with over $50 in your pocket, and a lot less hassle if you do have to remove something later than what a typical custom loop restrains you to. If you are in the market for an all-in-one, water cooling solution, there is no reason why you should look at any other solution. For what you get in the Hydro Series H100, even with the loud fans, it isn't any worse than any of the others really. My advice here is dive in with both feet, and if the case is willing, get a H100 installed on your CPU and enjoy similar results to mine!"
HardwareHeaven, Force Series™ 3 240GB SATA 3 6Gb/s SSD Review — 10 of 10 Stars — "The Corsair H80 is a great liquid cooling solution. It reached one of the best performances we saw on all air coolers and sealed watercoolers that we tested so far. It is also not too loud, maintaining the noise at an acceptable level even at full speed."
Tweak Town, Dominator® GT 1.5V 8GB DDR3 Memory Kit with DHX Pro Connector and AirFlow II Fan Review — "The CMT8GX3M2A2133C9 is a really good all round kit that brings something new to the party for Corsair. The slightly relaxed timings are a small trade-off for the higher speed and low voltage on offer, but another real highlight to the kit is the fact it's an 8GB one. And to be honest, moving to 4GB isn't a trade-off you probably want to make, so it's great it's not one that has to be made here."
HardOCP, Enthusiast Series™ TX850 V2 80 PLUS® Bronze Certified 850W PSU Review — "The DC Output Quality of the TX850 V2 today was excellent and posted significant improvements over what we saw from the TX850W just as was the case with the 750W example in the new TX V2 line we previously reviewed. Also like with the TX750 V2, the trace amplitudes of all rails were started off testing at ~10mV. During testing, the minor rails stayed close to this value as they ended up peaking at ~15mV. The 12v rail on the other hand, moved up to ~25mV which really isn't that much more and represents a significant improvement over the TX850W. Incidentally, this also represents an improvement over the Core Edition 850W which is just another feather in this unit's cap. All in all, the DC Output Quality of the TX850 V2 is excellent in all of our testing today."
Neoseeker, Carbide Series™ 400R Mid-Tower Case Review — "All of Corsair's cases are acclaimed for their included features, support, expansion and functionally, so it should come as little surprise that the 400R is yet another excellent case from Corsair that succeeds on all fronts."
Tech Power Up, Carbide Series 400R Mid-Tower Case Review — "Corsair already has gained an excellent reputation for their cases in a considerably short time frame. With all of their cases occupying the higher end segments, the Carbide 400R is coming down below the magical (yes I said it) 100 USD barrier. While you may expect that such a case could have lost most of its appeal and functionality on the way to this milestone when compared to the previous Corsair enclosures, I am happy to report that this is not the case. Corsair has managed to impress in the past and continues to do so with the Carbide 400R. It features an excellent and really cool looking paint job, the same build quality we have seen on the 600T and all the core functionality of their modern case line up."
MNPCTECH video review of the Carbide Series 400R Mid-Tower Case:
The most recent information I saw indicateded that there are over 30 million Steam users now. When I last logged in, there was over 3.2 million users online. Those are astounding numbers. And of course I hope they are all Corsair customers!
One thing I personally like about Steam is the backup and restore functions. If you do many OS installs or new system builds, I'm sure you know what I mean. But, I'm also sure that there are some people that do not utilize this feature or may not even know it's there. It's super easy to use so let's take a look at it.
I'll start this out with an admission. Yes, I am a Steam user. And, the more I use it, the more I like it. If you check the Wikipedia information you’ll find this:
Steam is a digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer and communications platform developed by Valve Corporation. It is used to distribute games and related media online, from small independent developers to larger software houses. Steam also has community features, automated game updates, and in-game voice and chat functionality.
As of July 2011, there are over 1,300 games available through Steam, and over 30 million active user accounts.
