Tag: Hardware

Don’t get too excited, this is not the newest in HDMI 1.3 sound cards. No, this is Auzentech’s latest sound card release jack of all trades that ignores HDMI entirely…like the good old days before it existed. This card will be much more valuable if you are planning on going Analog 7.1, as the name implies, versus those of you […]

Imitation is the fondest form of flattery, right? If so, then Thermaltake really likes Zalman. I found it ironic that other companies are releasing the flower heatsinks now that Zalman is shifting away from it. The important matter no matter what, is how does it cool…and luckily it works here. The MeOrb keeps that processor nice and cool. Just because […]

I have to admit my bias towards the HP Media Smart Servers, but kudos to Acer for continuing to push the Windows Home Server market with their continued evolution of their product. The chassis is small and very low power…but it’s lacking the special software that I’ve grown to love from the HP units similarly priced. Desktop Review The Acer […]

 The power supply is one of the most forgotten components to an HTPC build–choose poorly and you will be suffering from reboots, crashes or even worse, loud noise! And replacing it is a complete PITA as it connects to everything in your system. PC Power & Cooling has been around for years and is very well respected for their quality, […]

SilentPCReview.com continues their HTPC collection of reviews, this time up is a chassis from Moneual. Technically they sent them a whole system to review, but apparantly the chassis is sold separately as well, and that appears to be a very good thing. The chassis appears to be solid, but the system configured by Moneual is not so great. SilentPCreview With […]

Wow, 2 Scythe heatsinks reviewed in 1 week?!? Lucky us! I’m glad they have evolved away from the huge towers, and as long as they continue to efficiently and quietly cool, I’m all for anything that takes up less space in my HTPC. Still, this guy–unlike the last one–probably won’t fit in any small HTPC cases. SilentPCreview The Scythe Katana […]

Slow news day, but I was shocked when I saw this so had to post it. For years now, Zalman has been one of THE premier HTPC heatsink manufacturers, known for their quiet & unique flower-like designs. Looks like they are finally joining the masses with a tower design…good to know they still work. SilentPCreview Admittedly, the CNPS10X is relatively […]

What’s the number one complaint of HTPC’s in the living room? Well, besides aesthetics, it’s noise!! The CPU heatsink-fan can be one of the worst offenders in this space, and especially the smaller your chassis, the more difficult it is to cool it quietly. This Shuriken, while horribly named, seems like it can do the job and quietly. Scythe is […]

Ah, the HTPC chassis…something that is beautiful to one person’s living room that can be equally disgusting to another. Well, ExtremeTech tries to help with the buying process by doing a mini roundup review of 4 new HTPC cases. While I have the opportunity to, I’d like to thank the former staff of ExtremeTech who have recently been let go, […]