Xtreme CPU

G.Skill Launches Its New Ares! Low Profile Extreme Performance DDR3 Memory Kits

Kristopher Wandall — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:43:58 +0000

G. Skill has announced a new series of DDR3, low profile memory kits. Have a look at the official press release below and celebrate that we now have a stylish, unobtrusive to our CPU coolers, RAM from G.Skill!

- Trouble free with super large CPU coolers -

Taipei-Taiwan – February 8th 2012. G.Skill, the worldwide leading high performance memory designer and manufacturer, has announced the brand new Ares series low profile performance DDR3 memory.

Stylish Low Profile Heat Spreader

Featured with low profile heat spreader design (3.2cm in height), G.Skill Ares series DDR3 memory modules are the perfect choices for building high performance PCs with large CPU coolers, small form factor desktop computers or any other systems with more restricted space.

The Best Compatibility and Reliability

Every Ares memory kit is hand-tested with G.Skill rigorous internal validation process to ensure the maximum stability and compatibility with both Intel and AMD platforms.

XMP Ready

Compliant with the latest Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) function, G.Skill Ares series DDR3 memory provides PC enthusiasts and extreme gamers a trouble free

overclocking experience on Intel platforms, while enjoying the enhanced memory bandwidth.

G.Skill Ares specifications are listed as below. Specifications are subject to change without notice. For further details please check the G.Skill website at www.gskill.com

All G.Skill memory products come with a lifetime warranty and the G.Skill technical team is always ready to provide consumers with complete technical support via online forums, telephone and email.

Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W Unboxing

Kristopher Wandall — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:43:05 +0000

Cooler Master, world renowned for CPU coolers and cases, makes powers supplies, if you did not already know. While visiting their Belagio Suite for a tour of some great new products, we ran across an interesting Power Supply Unit. The Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W PSU combines silent operation with high performance cooling when needed. The fan used in the SPH 1300W automatically adjusts depending on the load used. The SPH’s fan does not kick in until about 200W load. Once the unit is above 200W, the fan voltage increases linearly until it reaches its maximum voltage and maximum load, 2000RPM and 1300W respectively. You can see a visual representation of the Fan Curve in the graph below.

The Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W PSU is rated at 80 Plus Gold. On a 115V circut, the unit maintains around 88% efficiency and peaks at nearly 90%. With 230V feeding the power supply we see in increase in efficiency up to 92%. Of course, all these numbers come straight from Cooler Master, but we will have a full review of this PSU soon.

Included with the SPH 1300W is a front case mounted fan controller that lets you control the power supply fan by auto or manual and up to three system fans. The SPH 1300W is fully modular allowing the user to install only those cables which are needed. The cables included are compatible with the other two units included in the new Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid series. What this means is that if you start with a lower rated power supply and need a larger unit, all you have to do is replace the PSU. The cables will work with all three units.

Other impressive specs include a single 12V rail and it is rated up to 105A. Below you will find the unboxing pictorial. Stay tuned for our testing review of this new hybrid PSU!

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ZTE Tania Windows Phone at CES

Kristopher Wandall — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:25:44 +0000

ZTE had a few products on display, but the one we were most interested in was the Tania. The Tania is a Windows Phone 7.5 based device running what seemed to be first generation WP specs. Included with the ZTE WP was a 4.3″ WVGA TFT display with an 800×480 resolution. As you can see in the pictures below, the screen seemed fairly nice when next to the HTC Titan. Also included with the Tania is the following:

10.5mm thickness
1GHz CPU
4GB internal storage
512MB RAM
5MP rear flash camera
1400mAh battery

No word on which, if any, carrier in the US would be getting this phone.

Zotac booth toured, Vapor Phaze spotted

Kristopher Wandall — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:14:25 +0000

Zotac’s booth had a unique mod sitting up on a shelf on the back wall. It looked like someone had taken a motherboard, graphics card, and memory, dumped it in a fish tank of water and flipped the switch on the power.

What was really happening, however, was that a modder took some special nonconductive liquid engineered by 3M which has a boiling point of 34 degrees, and used it to cool all the really hot components in his case. Once the liquid hits the hot spots, such as the overclocked CPU or the graphics processor, the liquid boils and carries the heat away. At which point the gas is transfered back to a liquid and then the process repeats itself.

The rest of Zotac’s product displays included some microATX Z68 motherboards and some newer ZBox mini PC’s with upgraded CPU’s from Intel and AMD. One new Zbox with AMD internals includes an E-450 APU running at 1.66GHz and an HD 6320 graphics chip.

Huawei booth toured, hands on with the Ascend P1 LTE

Kristopher Wandall — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:50:45 +0000

In our tour of Huawei’s booth, we ran into a few very eye catching products. To start, we got our hands around the super thin Ascend P1 S. At 6.68mm thick, this HSPA+ smartphone comes in thinner than the Verizon Droid RAZR. In addition to being extremely thin, the P1 S packs the following hardware:

Dual Core 1.5GHz Processor
1GB RAM
4GB EMMC internal storage
MicroSD card slot with support for up to 64GB of additional memory
4.3″ qHD AMOLED display at 960×540
1650mAh battery
Android 4.0.1

Next, we ran into the LTE version of the Ascend P1. Besides having an LTE chip, this version had several other variations from the P1 S. The Ascend P1 LTE comes packed with a larger, 2000mAh battery. The same 8MP camera can be found on the back, but a 1.3MP front facing camera is also included. At 9.9mm thick, it does add some bulk to its frame and also weighs in at a slim 129g.

Our last stop in the Huawei booth was at the MediaPad 4G section. The 4G HSPA+ tablet comes stock with Android 4.0, 14.4Mbps DL speeds, a 7″ IPS LCD WXGA 1280×800 resolution display, dual core 1.2GHz processor and 5MP rear, 1.3MP front cameras. At 10.5mm thick, it makes for a decent sized and seemingly powerful 7″ tablet.

ASUS PC Component booth, unmanned and tiny

Kristopher Wandall — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:43:25 +0000

Although you could find ASUS products throughout other areas of CES, their PC components were housed in a tiny cubicle sized section. On display was two X79 motherboards and their Mars Edition, three slot graphics card.

The two boards were the Rampage IV Extreme and the P9X79X Deluxe. There were a few mockups of the Transformer Prime and an ASUS branded Android phone. No one was present to answer questions.

CES Booth Babes 2012

Kristopher Wandall — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:43:34 +0000

’nuff said

Cooler Master shows off new swag

Kristopher Wandall — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:49:55 +0000

Cooler Master was kind enough to let us into their Belagio suite so we could get some one-on-one time with new gear. On display was everything from the already covered Cosmos II to mechanical keyboards and sexy Apple accessories.

What got our eyes the most, besides the enormously awesome Cosmos II, was the special white edition of the CM Storm Trooper case. Cooler Master has stepped up to the gaming peripheral table with mechanical keyboards, industry leading lift-off distance mice and super surround sound headsets. Stay tuned to Xtreme CPU over the coming months as we get up close and personal with the new gear we’ve seen from Cooler Master!

Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T hands on

Kristopher Wandall — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:35:46 +0000

After navigating our way through the super thick crowd in the Samsung exhibit, we finally got to lay our hands on Samsung’s Galaxy Note for AT&T. The version we played with was all white. According to our sorce, the Note should release soon in both black and white versions.

Cooler Master Cosmos II hands on

Kristopher Wandall — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:41:06 +0000

We go hands on with Cooler Master’s Cosmos II. First impressions are that it is huge! The Cosmos II is an enormous case but one made to handle high end hardware like Intel’s X79 motherboards and AMD’s 7970 graphics card. With excellent cable routing, space for 11 hard drives and plenty of cooling, the Cosmos II was an impressive piece of PC hardware. On the CM floor were two prototypes of the Cosmos II, one made of aluminum and steel and one in a gunmetal finish. In the center of those two was a custom made design by Smooth Creations. We look forward to covering the Cosmos II indepth in a future review.