Lian Li PC-V2110 Case Reviewed

The Lian Li PC-V2110 (US$399) is a "Super Full Tower" PC case that features:

• Aluminum construction

• E-ATX,ATX, M-ATX motherboard form-factor compatibility

• Top panel with USB2.0 x4, Firewire x1, E-SATA x1, and AC97+HD Audio
• 7 external 5.25" bays
• 8 Internal 3.5" bays
• 14cm ball-bearing front case fan (3 speed)
• 12cm ball-bearing rear case fan (3 speed)

• 210x620X620 dimensions

• 14Kg overall weight

AnandTech reviewed the PC-V2110, and was very pleased with it:

"For those that demand ultimate quality and class, the PC-V2110 qualifies as the stylish statesman of PC cases. It's ready to accept a hefty processor and high-end graphics card out of the box with no difficulty. If you're willing to add a few more extra fans, it can hold pretty much all the computer you want to throw at it. If you have the money to burn and find yourself partial to Lian Li quality and styling, you won't be disappointed with the V2110." [AnandTech | Lian Li PC-V2110]

The PC-V2110 may probably be geared for the extreme enthusiast (or one with deep pockets). Nevertheless, if you like its features and style, and have the moolah for it, it is definitely a great case to consider.

Technorati : case, full, lian li, pc, review, tower

Asus Eee Box Desktop Previewed

Asus Eee Box (starts at US$269) is a desktop equivalent of the Eee PC notebook. It will feature the 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor, and will come in one of the following configurations:

• 1GB memory + 80GB 2.5 HDD + Linux (US$269)
• 1GB memory + 80GB 2.5 HDD + Windows XP (US$299)
• 2GB memory + 160GB 2.5 HDD + Linux (US$269)

AnandTech previewed the Eee Box (Windows XP), and found it to be a nicely-priced desktop that performs well:

"Much like the Eee PC, the Eee Box is going to be very much a love it or hate it machine. Where the Eee Box differs from its sibling is that the complaints of a cramped keyboard and small screen don't apply here, not to mention the lower overall cost. If you've got a spare monitor, the Eee Box isn't a bad way of putting it to good use. It's a great entry-level PC for parents or children, or a secondary/tertiary computer for use around the house. It's cheap enough where it could easily be a good kitchen PC, but the kicker is that you'll need a display." [AnandTech | ASUS Eee Box Preview]

Additionally, AnandTech ran comparison tests on the Intel Atom processor, and found it to be at par with an 800MHz - 1.2GHz Pentium M depending on the task at hand. So who would want an Asus Eee Box? Just about anyone who needs an inexpensive desktop PC that works well with Windows XP, or Linux.

Technorati : asus, atom, box, eee, intel, pc

Build an Energy Efficient PC

Tom's Hardware has a great guide on energy efficiency, discussing about ways to save power at different levels: technology, component, product, and user.

"Selecting the right components is important in building an energy efficient machine. If you go for an old Pentium D instead of the current Core 2 Duo processor, you will get two processing cores in both cases and even higher clock speeds with the Pentium D. The old Pentium generation is based on the NetBurst architecture, though, which is considerably slower than the Core 2 family (including the Pentium Dual Core, which is a stripped down version). Despite its deficient performance, the Pentium D will still consume much more power than a Core 2 processor under all possible conditions. Clearly, selecting the right technology is very important." [Tom's Hardware | Tom's Energy Efficiency Guide]

The guide also suggests some component choices for your next PC build.

AMD System:

• Gigabyte GA-MA78GM with AMD780G Chipset motherboard
• AMD Phenom X4 9100e processor

Intel System:

• ECS G33T with Intel G33 Chipset motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Other components:

• Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ (1 TB) hard drive
• Western Digital WD10EACS hard drive
• Radeon HD 3870 graphics card
• GeForce 9600 GT graphics card
• Silverstone ST50EF Plus (500 W) power supply unit

It's interesting to see that Tom's Hardware chose an AMD780G Chipset motherboard for the AMD system. I'm sure that Nvidia fans may opt for a motherboard with the NVIDIA GeForce 8200 chipset, but unless we have the concrete numbers as to which chipset is more efficient, we may just have to go with subjectivity on this matter.

Other than that, I'm sure that the components mentioned in the article would be a good guideline for your next energy efficient PC build.

Technorati : amd, build, efficient, energy, intel, pc

Antec Twelve Hundred Case Reviewed

Antec is releasing a replacement of its Nine Hundred case: the Twelve Hundred (US$200). Compared to the Nine Hundred, the Twelve Hundred is taller, supports 12 drives (against 9), has a sleeker look, individual fan speed controls, and washable dust screens on each drive bay.

ExtremeTech gives the Twelve Hundred 7 out of 10:

"We like the Twelve Hundred a lot, but it's hard to look at its premium price ($200 with no power supply) and not wish for more. It's well thought-out, roomy enough for a lot of high end components, and attractive in a minimalist way. But it's also pretty basic. For this kind of price, we want the option for tool-less drive and card installation, and at the very least, the ability to turn off those damn blue LEDs on every fan, not just the top one. If we were to use this case in our homes, there's a good chance we would take some wire cutters to the leads on those fan LEDs to permanently shut them off. This is a great choice for a really high-end PC that needs lots of room inside and plenty of efficient, quiet air cooling, but not so great as to justify the $200 price point." [ExtremeTech | Antec Twelve Hundred Review]

If you have deep enough pockets, and don't mind the absence of tool-less construction (and the inability to turn off the blue LEDs), the Twelve Hundred case is for you.

Technorati : antec, case, hundred, pc, review, twelve

Price/Performance of Low/Medium/High Cost PCs

Tom's Hardware previously had a five-day System Builder Marathon, where they built three systems: Low-cost (US$837), Medium-cost (US$1,931), and High-cost (US$3,400) PCs. All PCs were then subjected to overclocking on marathon day 4. Day 5 was judgement day, where Tom's Hardware tries to choose the Price/Performance winner.

"According to these charts, you'll have to pay nearly three times as much for a system to double its performance. That's actually a little better than we expected, but it still drives home the point that the lowest-cost system will always provide the best "value". ... But what is value? The low-cost system wasn't quite capable of playing certain games at good quality and moderate resolutions. Similarly, buyers who actually need extra performance in applications will find that they can finish twice as much work per unit of time on the high-cost system. If you're looking for excuses to splurge, you now have two good ones." [Tom's Hardware | System Builder Marathon: Price/Performance]

Low-cost PC (US$837) specs [via Tom's Hardware]:

• AMD Quad Core Phenom 9500 processor
• Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H motherboard
• Wintec Ampo DDR2 PC2-6400 2GB RAM
• HIS Radeon 3870 ICEQ Turbo graphics card
• Western Digital Caviar 500 GB HDD
• Sony Optiarc DVD-RW

Medium-cost (US$1,931) PC specs [via Tom's Hardware]:

• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 processor
• Asus P5N-T Deluxe motherboard
• Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 PC2-6400 - 4 GB RAM
• EVGA GeForce 8800GTX, 768 MB graphics card
• 1x Western Digital Raptor 150 GB, 1x Western Digital Caviar 500 GB HDDs
• Sony Optiarc DVD-RW

High-cost (US$3,400) PC specs [via Tom's Hardware]:

• Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor
• Asus Striker II Formula motherboard
• Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 PC2-6400 - 4 GB RAM
• 2x Gigabyte GeForce 8800GTX - GV-NX88X768H-RH graphics cards
• 2x Western Digital Caviar WD7500AAKS HDDs
• Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology SH-203B DVD-RW
• NEC 1.44 MB Floppy Drive

As Tom's Hardware puts it, PC performance really has a price. The beauty of building your own PC is that you set the price and specs, according to your needs.

Technorati : build, pc, performance, price, review

Lian Li PC-A77 Full Tower Case Reviewed

HardwareZone takes a good look at the Lian Li PC-A77 Full Tower. The case features:

• Aluminum chassis
• 12 x 5.25" External Drive Bays
• 9 x 3.5" Internal Drive Bays
• 7 Rear Expansion Slots
• 1 rear 120mm fan / 3 x 120mm fans attached to HDD cages
• Motherboard Support type: Micro, Standard ATX and Extended ATX

"While we like to say the PC-A77 is perfect, and it is as close to a perfect casing as you can get, there are some minor things that make us shy away slightly. ... In the long run it doesn't really matter, as the casing really hits the sweet spot as far as we're concerned. Doing away with flashy lights, outlandish designs and going back to basics is something of a win-win for us and many users who prefer neutral designs." [ hardwarezone ]

HardwareZone gave the Lian Li PC-A77 Full Tower a rating of 4 Stars (Very Good).

Technorati : aluminum, case, full, lian li, pc, review, tower