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It certainly has been awhile since we have turned out attention to Cooler Master’s CPU cooling solutions. Indeed, the last one we looked at was their huge V8 which was released more than a year ago. Well that is about to change as today we are looking at their latest beefy creation: the V6 GT. The V6 GT is actually an impressive looking heatsink to say the least and we are not talking about the fact that it looks like a V6 engine block either. It follows in the footsteps of its larger siblings –the V8 and the gargantuan V12- but this time it looks to us like a lot of sensible engineering went into this product. Instead of relying on a brute force approach like the other V-series heatsinks, makes use of a sensible fin design and fan layout to deliver optimal cooling performance. To us what makes this cooler so interesting is also the fact that is it looks a heck of a lot like a certain Thermalright Frio we reviewed a while back. This resemblance may only in fact be skin deep or it may hint at a certain amount of “creative borrowing” at the OEM level. In either case, we have high expectations for V6 as it promises to not only look kick ass with its all new FDB-based fans, and integrated LEDs, but it should also be a monster in the performance category as well. While the V6 GT is considered a limited edition, it is actually fairly easy to find at e-tailers in North America for about 57 USD. This is certainly is a nice chunk of change to drop down for a cooler, but by the standards of the enthusiast marketplace it is actually a fairly decent asking price. Seeing how it will stack up against the competition is another matter altogether though. To read the complete review click here
It has been a few months since we first previewed the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula motherboard. Since then, we have thoroughly examined other ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) offerings, including the Rampage III Extreme LGA1366, the Maximus III Extreme LGA1156, and a ROG-branded video card. However, for some reason or another, the Crosshair never got the attention that it deserved – until now. For our beloved readers who are anxiously waiting for our review, please sit tight because this will be a very long read since ASUS packed this board full of features. Today, we finally take an in-depth look at the Crosshair IV Formula. It is currently ASUS’ most expensive motherboard for the AMD platform, and it is marketed towards the high-end enthusiast. It sports an 890FX/SB850 chipset combo, and is priced at a costly $260 CDN which is actually not that bad for an enthusiast-level product. To put things into perspective, the Phenom II X6 1090T processor, AMD’s top-of-the-line consumer CPU, only retails for $330 CDN. So why would someone spend so much money on a motherboard which is arguably negligible in determining a system’s computing power and performance? The answer to that question lies in the legacy and the reputation of the ROG brand. The ROG lineup of products caters to diehard gamers and enthusiasts who want to push their hardware to the absolute limit. In other words, every conceivable feature that allows for easier and higher overclocks is featured on this motherboard. By using the Crosshair IV, you should be able to tweak your CPU and RAM to speeds not achievable through any other motherboard. What is the end result? Setting new world records for 3DMark Vantage and ultimately fragging your online buddies through the use of unprecedented frame rates. For this review, we will focus heavily on the capabilities of this to push our AMD Phenom II X6 1090T to the absolute limit. Furthermore, we will take an in-depth look at the long, long list of features ASUS equipped this board with. Based on an 890FX/SB850 chipset combo, it naturally offers its users CrossfireX and SATA 6.0Gbps support also items such as TurboVEvo, ProbeIt!, MemOK, RoGConnect, and many more. Without further delay, let’s take a look at the best AMD-based motherboard that ASUS has to offer.
To read the complete review click here
On August 7th, Gigabyte hosted the North American leg of the Gigabyte Open Overclocking Championship 2010 (GO OC 2010), the very last of all the regional overclocking competitions that have been held all over the world starting back in June. This is the third year in a row that GIGABYTE has organized this well regarded worldwide overclocking tournament. In total, for this year's event, 54 overclockers have already competed in 4 regions around the world, with 13 having been selected to go to the global final. Now this last regional competition is going to determine which two North Americans competitors are going to be making the trip to Taiwan to try and win the WorldWide Final trophy, a big cash prize, and hopefully the respect of their peers...
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Well the cat is out of the bag. Intel's Gulftown processors are out, and they are beastly. Not only in the power sense, but in the monetary sense as well. Clocking in at around $1000, these chips are at the typical entry price for the Extreme series processors. If you have the cash to drop on one of these chips, then the chances are you have the cash to invest in some worthy parts to accompany it. When you spend that much money on something, you want to get every ounce of value out of that item, and in the case of the i7 980X, ASUS wants people to know that buying their newest addition to their Republic of Gamers series, the Rampage III Extreme, is the first step to doing just that. Whether or not the board holds up to that hope, I can't yet say. But with ASUS's excellent history with their ROG line of components, and features like RC Bluetooth, and ROG Connect, they might very well have an excellent contender here.
To read the complete review click here
Not that long ago, ASUS released a card which was named after the Roman God of War: Mars. It took the idea of the high performance GTX 295 to the next level by decking it out with a pair of GTX 285 cores in order to make what was simply the fastest graphics card on the planet. Unfortunately, at the time NVIDIA’s SLI drivers left much to be desired and considering its limited run of only 1000 units, the Mars never ended up being a talked-about card. Well, times have changed and multi card scaling has drastically improved so ASUS is once again trying their hand at a limited edition, extreme performance graphics card but this time using ATI cores as their inspiration. Continuing in the god of war tradition, ASUS is now releasing a graphics card within their Republic of Gamers series they are calling the ARES; a true beast which holds a pair of HD 5870 reference-clocked cores and 4GB of GDDR5 memory. This is actually quite a step up from a standard HD 5970 that uses highly underclocked Cypress cores and “only” 2GB worth of memory. Unlike when the MARS was released, the ARES actually has some competition in the form of XFX’s HD 5970 Eyefinity Black Edition and Sapphire’s HD 5970 4GB Toxic. All three cards will likely only appeal to the elite few who can afford the unbelievably high price of admission. Considering the ARES will supposedly only have a production run of about 1000 cards, ASUS spared no expense when designing and outfitting it. The heatsink is designed with 99.9% pure copper but at the same time it is completely removable in only a few steps. ASUS has also gone to great lengths to talk about this über card’s overclocking potential and has even given users the ability to adjust its voltages to their heart’s content. There are also additional features backed into the ARES’ frame but we will get to those throughout the course of this review. We can talk all we want about the potential of ASUS’ new flagship but when push comes to shove, consumers will likely ask one single question: how much does this all cost? Well folks, hold onto your hats because it’s time for a bit of sticker shock. When the butcher’s bill is tallied, you’ll be out $1,200 USD for a single ARES. That’s about $200 more than a pair of GTX 480 cards or equal to the price of three…yes THREE regular HD 5870 cards. Nonetheless, most of the larger retailers should have limited supplies of the ARES next week. As they say: exclusivity usually has a high price. But is this card indeed worth 1200 bones? Let’s find out.
To read the complete review click here
