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Archive for May, 2011
SilverStone Precision Series PS06 Mid Tower
May 26, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
Today we are reviewing the latest case in SilverStone’s Precision Series of mid-tower cases. What really sets these enclosures apart from their other product lines is the affordability. While you won’t find these cases constructed with aluminum unibody frames, the SilverStone quality and attention to detail is still evident. What the engineers are aiming to accomplish with this series is to provide top-level cooling and features with a price that is usually reserved for entry level cases.
We reviewed the last Precision case (PS05) almost a year ago and gave it a 8/10 rating. The value was definitely there, but we had a few gripes with the expansion slot mounting on that model. The new PS06 eschews the plastic tool-less expansion slot locking mechanism for classic slot covers and thumb screws. They have also added new features with the PS06, like a hot-swap 3.5″/2.5″ combo hard drive bay accessible from the front of the case and USB 3.0 front panel connections that can plug straight into compatible motherboards. Will the successor be a better case? Hit the jump for the full review.
SilverStone ST75F-G Strider Gold Series 750W Power Supply
May 26, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
The Strider Gold Series is SilverStone’s latest line of power supplies and successor to the Strider Plus line. These new PSU’s share a lot of the features that made the previous models so popular. The Gold Series stays with the fully modular cable design that definitely helps to minimize cable clutter for any PC build. Also returning is the use of capacitors on the PCI-E cables to help with voltage stability and to improve ripple and noise performance for attached graphic cards. The Gold Series PSU’s are 80 Plus gold certified, meaning they must have at least 87% energy efficiency at 20% of rated load, 90% energy efficiency at 50% of rated load and 87% energy efficiency at 100% of rated load. There are currently four PSU’s in the Gold Series ranging from 750W – 1200W. Although we are unable to conduct efficiency testing on PSU’s in our lab, we will be installing the ST75F-G into a test system to gather voltage readings and find out how much power our system is pulling from the PSU.
SilverStone Fortress FT03 case
May 24, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
The SilverStone Fortress 3 (FT03) is the newest model from the company’s Fortress series of enclosures and is quite a departure from the mid-tower cases that made the Fortress series popular. With so many different styles of cases to choose from these days it’s hard to innovate without coming across as gimmicky, but SilverStone has a purpose behind it’s design. Engineers designed this latest case for “elegant integration” by building up instead of out so that the final product will have a smaller footprint. This design allows the FT03 to be placed prominently on a desk or tucked away in a corner of the room.
In order to make the smaller enclosure, SilverStone had to limit the motherboard compatibility to Micro ATX, Mini-DTX, Mini-ITX models. This isn’t necessarily a drawback as there are plenty of boards in these form factors that can be used for a pretty extreme system if desired. There is even room to install graphics cards that are up to 13.77″ in length. Buyers can choose between silver or black case models to fit their taste, but we are testing the black model (SST-FT03B) today.
Corsair 600T Special Edition White Graphite Series
May 16, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
The 600T from Corsair has been out for a while now and has proven to be a favorite for many PC builders. The enclosure is incredibly roomy for a mid-tower and includes some very nice cable management features to help keep a clean wiring job. Until now, the only SKU available has been for the black model. Corsair had planned to release this special white version months ago, but delayed it to give them time to perfect the paint job technique before releasing it to the public. The white edition includes a windowed side panel as well as a mesh screen that users can swap in place of the window. The screen can be loaded with up to four optional fans if additional cooling is required. Let’s check it out.
