2012 January | TechREACTION

[Review] ASUS Maximus GeneZ Full-power, half-pint 1 Comment By Neuromancer on January 30, 2012 The Republic Of Gamers series gets a Z68 based microATX board with the Maximus IV GeneZ. Following the tradition of its forebears, Maximus signifies the best of the Intel lineups from ASUS and the Gene moniker tells us it is in microATX format. The Z indicates this is a Z68 based chipset and not a P67 like the Maximus IV Extreme. Very simple if familiar with their products. (Note: this is not the GeneZ gen 3, which is looking forward to Ivy Bridge with full PCIE 3.0 compatibility, but will requ...
[Review] Antec Three Hundred Two 3 Comments By The Duke on January 27, 2012 Three Hundred, the previous well-liked case by Antec, is back with a chassis designed to handle today and tomorrow’s high-performance systems. The Three Hundred Two, is touted to be the next standard in affordable gaming cases. This new chassis from Antec is supposed to be built for gamers from the inside-out. With tool-less 5.25″ & 3.5″ drive bays, a large cable management compartment and two front panel USB 3.0 ports with an internal connector, the Three Hundred Two wil...
[Review] Cerwin-Vega XD3 Desktop Speakers 3 Comments By The Duke on January 26, 2012 With over 50 years of speaker system know-how for concerts, movies, public address and clubs, Cerwin-Vega has been around the block. When creating the XD3 speaker for desktop and computer applications the goal is to optimize the sound output while keeping the enclosure small. Clarity is critical, especially for those producing multimedia or analyzing tracks. Signal purity must be maintained by using low noise amplifiers that don’t disappoint when the volume is set on high. Powered desktop ...
[Review] Corsair Carbide 500R 2 Comments By The Duke on January 25, 2012 The 500R from Corsair promises even more flexibility over the 400R. It adds a 200mm fan mounted on the side panel’s mesh screen for extra GPU cooling, a multi-channel fan controller, and removable and relocatable hard drive cages. The ability for the user to move and remove hard drive cages not only improves airflow, it also allows you to install graphics cards of up to 452mm in length. The Carbide Series are modeled from the Obsidian and Graphite Series which are acclaimed for their ease ...
[Review] Bitfenix Raider 2 Comments By The Duke on January 18, 2012 Bitfenix comes to us today with their new creation which could possibly be a serious contender, the Raider. The first chassis to offer four USB 3.0 ports, the Raider is ready for any future peripherals you might want to throw at it, offering all the high-speed connectivity you need. The integrated fan controller manages up to five fans, allowing you to customize your system’s cooling profile to suit the task at hand. The Raider also sports filtered intakes, tool-free drive locking mechanis...
[Review] Enermax Briskie 0 Comments By The Duke on January 16, 2012 The Briskie keyboard is equipped with a durable membrane key stroke technology with up to 10 million key strokes lifetime. It ensures a smooth and comfortable typing experience, even over a longer period of time. The height can be adjusted in two steps to match your needs. To avoid damage caused by accidental spills and to ease the keyboard cleaning, Enermax further applied a spill-resistant structure. The Briskie mouse is designed for prolonged, ambidextrous use. The ergonomic shape offers an e...
[Review] Rosewill Thor V2 White Edition 2 Comments By The Duke on January 10, 2012 Today we have the new Thor V2 White Edition in hand, which has plenty of features jammed into it. The Thor supports up to XL-ATX Motherboard (13.5” x 10.3”) / SSI-CEB (E-ATX) (12″ x 10.3″) along with a mostly tool-free installation. The Thor V2 has also updated the USB 3.0 connections, adding one more than the original, and reorganizing the top I/O section. The massive inside supports up to a 330mm (12.99″) video card, along with having a 230mm front intake fan to help keep...
Arctic E461-BM Earphones 1 Comment By Trembledust on January 5, 2012 Arctic has been a well recognized and respected name in the custom PC building world for many, many years due largely in part to their PC cooling solutions. These solutions range from case fans, heat sinks, and of course their renowned thermal compound (MX family, please take a bow). Unknown to some in the PC world, Arctic, under the guise of Arctic Sound, has been in the business of putting out audio devices to the public for a few years now. These products include headphones, headsets, spe...
[Review] Cooler Master Storm Trooper 3 Comments By The Duke on January 2, 2012 The Cooler Master Storm Trooper includes features that are often coveted by gaming enthusiasts in that it has full dust filter coverage, a fan controller, an external SSD drive hot-swap dock and two modular hard drive cages. These features give CM Storm Trooper the ability to adapt easily to configurations ranging from workstation to water-cooled gaming configurations. The CM Storm Trooper is the first in its class to include an ultra-strong carrying handle, allowing a gamer to travel with rel...

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