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iPod AA Battery Emergency Charger
2008-02-13 00:00:00
Recently, I reviewed a portable battery for the iPhone. Today I will look at another mobile charging device for use with the iPod. The iPod AA Battery Emergency Charger from USBFever allows you to use two AA batteries to charge most any iPod iteration, including the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is light weight and portable, giving you the extra “juice” when your iPod is not going to last. Let’s see how much power this charger truly holds. Let’s get started….
More About: Ipod

Outel USB Media Remote Review
2008-02-13 00:00:00
Lately I've noticed a trend from laptop makers to include small remotes with their laptops, especially ones that are designed for multimedia, this is a great additional feature and something that should become a standard. My friend has a new laptop and it came standard with a tiny little remote that actually fits inside the newer smaller ExpresCard slot so it's really small. I have an older laptop that uses the standard PCMCIA slots and of course it didn't come with a remote, sure I could buy a larger remote to carry along with it but that's a pain when you've got a product available like the one I have today for review. The product is called the USB Media Remote , the name is kind of misleading, but it does use your USB interface so it works that way. The USB Media Remote is tiny, feature packed including a built-in laser pointer and it fits right inside of a free PCMCIA slot for storage and easy portability. So if you're like me and the majority of laptop owners out there wh...
More About: Review

SteelSeries Ikari Laser Gaming Mouse Review
2008-02-09 00:00:00
I've always been a fan of Laser mice, I find them much more accurate and just easier to use, and of course I do like some of the higher end optical mice as well but not as much as the laser type mice. I used my Logitech G5 from when it came out originally till the second version came out this past year and used that version of the G5 everyday on my main system, that is until I got the Ikari Laser for review... Don't get me wrong though, I like the G5 and always will, but I found that I only use two of the DPI settings and none of the others that are available, the Ikari offers two settings, High and Low that can be set in increments of one to truly customize your mousing preferences. The G5 also has a weight kit, but I put them in and left them there, I never changed them out, I like a fairly heavy mouse and don't feel a need to change the weight so it was kind of a cool but rather useless feature for me. I received the Ikari Laser about three weeks ago and at first it was a bi...
More About: Gaming , Review , Mouse

Multislot Card Reader / Writer in Cosmetics Case
2008-02-08 00:00:00
I've checked out quite a few card readers in my time, but never one quite like this. Companies are always trying to make gadgets blend in more with our everyday objects, but I think this is the first 'girly' type product I've reviewed. Sure it's a gadget, it's a card reader and writer after all but they've taken that and basically stuck it into a cosmetic case so it would look right at home in a womans purse. I'm guessing this is an attempt to attract female consumers, but since I'm a guy I can only tell you the 'manly' stuff about it, like its read/writes speeds etc... So continue on to check out this most interesting product...
More About: Card , Cosmetics , Reader , Case , Writer

C2D 6420 vs C2Q 6600 – Quad Vs. Dual Comparison
2008-02-05 00:00:00
I recently upgraded my Core 2 Duo 6420 to a Core 2 Quad 6600 and of course I was very curious to check out the differences between them. So after doing all my testing in Vista and Xp I decided why not share my results to let other people know what's up with these Quad Core CPUs and if they really are worth it. My C2D 6420 is one of the newer models (relatively speaking of course) with the 4mb cache as opposed to the 2mb of the original C2Ds, and it runs at a stock speed of 2.13Ghz, but I easily hit 3Ghz while overclocking. The C2Q 6600 I just got runs at 2.4Ghz, which really isn't much more than the C2D 6420 overall, a couple hundred Mhz isn't going to drastically effect any testing results so I think they'll make a good comparison basically. So I ran both through my standard series of tests, SiSoft Sandra, 3dMark06, SuperPi, Video Encoding and a couple video games as well on both Vista and Xp to see if it was worth it for me to upgrade and maybe help you decide if it's worth...
More About: Comparison , Dual

Adesso Vista Remote Control Review
2008-02-04 00:00:00
With the ever increasing popularity of multi-media computers comes an increase in specialized products aimed at these types of users, specifically the ones that build Home Theater PCs . One such product is the remote control, there are many types out there that come bundled with some items you can buy, but most aren't that great, in what they can do and their overall range. Today for review I've got a remote control from Adesso, called the Vista Remote Control , yes the name Vista is attached but it can work in Windows XP, and Media Center Editions of Vista and XP as well. Being a reviewer it's nice to get products that don't have many flaws, and the Vista Remote is one of them, I really could not find anything wrong with this product at all. It features a range of almost 33 ft, numerous buttons to control every aspect of your home entertainment setup, full mouse/cursor controls , it's inexpensive, and requires no drivers or software to install, it truly is a plug-n-play...
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USB Octopus 2.0 Cable 4-Port Hub Reviewed
2008-02-03 00:00:00
I've taken a look at many USB hubs big and small, but none quite like what I have today, it's essentially a few short USB cables connected to a single cable, making it easy to attach your USB devices. It's called the USB Octopus Cable 4-Port Hub but with the name Octopus you might think it has eight connections, but it doesn't only four.. go figure... Anyway, the idea behind it is to allow easy access to the connections for whatever you might want to connect to your USB ports and that it does. Normal hubs are usually square and hard, and with little space between the actual USB connections sometimes not allowing you to connect larger USB drives and other devices at the same time. This product though eliminates any space issues, and from my testing it's very close to using a straight USB connection.

CPU Cooler Roundup on C2D – 12 Compared, who's the best?
2008-02-03 00:00:00
One thing about being a reviewer is that you get lots of stuff, especially CPU Cooler s, so I've got quite a few of them on hand and thought I'd compare them all together. This isn't just a comparison of results from a bunch of reviews, this is all new testing done with these coolers specifically for this article. You might be wondering why I titled it 'CPU Cooler Roundup on C2D' well that's because I've recently got a C2Q and I am in process of re-doing all of these same tests on my Core2Quad CPU as well to see which of these 12 coolers can handle a Quad core. Where applicable I've even tested these coolers without fans to see just how well they perform as truly silent cooling solutions. Since this isn't a 'official' review it will be broken down differently than others I've done in the past, this will be divided into sections. Inside you'll find sections with the coolers using the fan connected to a Molex, meaning running at full speed, connected to the CPU header, P...

Wireless Multimedia Flexible Keyboard Review
2008-01-30 00:00:00
Illuminated Flexible Keyboard (http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php ?option=com_content&task=view&id=5913&Ite mid=38) from our friends at Brando WorkShop, and I said that I would have this review up shortly, but due to personal things going on in my life that are beyond my control I'm a bit behind in my work.... Flexible keyboards have become very popular, even being featured in big budget movies, so it's no surprise that there seems to suddenly be an abundance of them floating around everywhere now because of their co-starring role in Die Hard. Most you'll see are the corded kind, but today I've got the cordless version for review, called the Wireless Multimedia Flexible Keyboard, and it's essentially the same as the corded version, but I was curious as to how it performs compared to other wireless keyboards. So read on to check it out and see what I learned...
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OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum Dual Channel 2gig Kit OCZ2P8002GK Reviewed
2008-01-30 00:00:00
I recently built a system for a friend of mine and of course I got him OCZ ram, I'm happy with my OCZ ram so I can recommend it to my friends with honesty. I did take the time though to do a brief review of it, I threw it into my main rig and ran it through my standard series of tests to check it out and see how it compares to the other ram I have on hand. So not only was I testing the ram for my review I was also testing it before I installed it into his system to make sure it worked, and I figure running it through a few days of testing would let me know if the ram was in good working condition or not. So for review today I've got 2gigs of OCZ Platinum Dual Channel DDR2 PC2-6400, one of the main reasons I selected this ram was the low price point, there was other ram that was lower but I know OCZ quality and trust my systems to it. So continue on to see what I learned about this set of ram through my testing in Windows XP and Vista...

Data Robotics Drobo Storage Robot Review
2008-01-28 00:00:00
Protecting ones data from catastrophe should be everyone’s concern. As Kris can attest, losing all your data can be frustrating, frightening and time consuming when trying to restore it. In the past I have tried to use RAID enabled systems, but always found upgrading them to be problematic. Data Robot ics have come out with a wonderful storage solution that not only provides oodles of storage space, but also, redundantly backs this data up across multiple drives. The best part of this system is there is it requires minimal user intervention. Their product is the Drobo, the world’s first storage robot, which is a one stop solution for redundant data protection. The Drobo is an external storage device with four user accessible hard drive slots that use 3.5” SATA hard drives. The maximum capacity of the Drobo is only dependent on current hard drive size limits. Setup is beyond simple and fairly idiot proof. There are some drawbacks to the Drobo, but for the most part, this i...
More About: Review , Storage

OCZ Vendetta CPU Cooler Review
2008-01-28 00:00:00
When you think OCZ, the first thing that comes to mind is memory, or ram, that's what they are best know for, making some of the best ram on the market today. OCZ has ventured into the cooling market as well with the release of several CPU coolers and thermal compound, so today I'll be taking a look at the OCZ Vendetta CPU cooler. The Vendetta is a heatpipe based CPU cooler that is very popular because the system works well. The Vendetta though is a different in that it is small compared to most heatpipe based coolers, and it features a unique fan mounting system that is the easiest I have used to date. So read on to learn more about the OCZ Vendetta and to see how it does up against other coolers I've got on hand using my C2D and P4X CPUs..
More About: Review , Cooler

Thermaltake Bach VBS8000SNS HTPC Case Review
2008-01-26 00:00:00
Until recently, Home Theatre PC (HTPC) cases required the use of micro or mini form factor motherboards. This was due to cooling considerations and case constraints. Luckily, Thermaltake has decided to eschew the small form factor and build a standard ATX sized HTPC case. Thermaltake has released its Mozart and Bach HTPC cases with optional MediaLab package which allows the use of an ATX form motherboard. As new processors can run at cooler temperatures, using a full sized motherboard allows the HTPC builder to pack more components and more power into their builds. Besides providing the ability to use full desktop power, Thermaltake has made a sexy looking case that would not look out of place with even the most expensive of stereo components. When bundled with the Media Lab, the Thermaltake Bach gains remote control function as well as providing another software alternative for your media center. Let’s see how well this HTPC case performs.
More About: Review , Case

Genius G-Pen F610 Drawing Tablet Review
2008-01-25 00:00:00
Bert Monroy (http://www.bertmonroy.com/), check out his work, if you get a chance. The beauty of a graphics tablet is that it lets you control your cursor in a totally different way than a mouse, but in a way that is still natural for most people. Combined with programs such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP, you can truly unleash your inner artist. Let’s get started……
More About: Drawing , Review , Tablet , Genius

USB Flash Card 2GB MP3 Player Review
2008-01-22 00:00:00
It's been a long time since I've reviewed any mp3 players, I've personally got one that I love, it's the S.Beat from Swiss Memory and it goes quite a few places with me all the time for when I get the chance to listen to it. There are other mp3 players out there besides the iPod, believe it or not, and I've never quite understood the fascination with having 20+ gigs of storage on a portable music device, my S.Beat is a 1 gig and I've never filled it yet, there's just not that much I like I guess. So I can't figure out how people actually can listen to 20+ gigs of music, or have that much that they actually like... Anyway, today for review I've got a small and portable, credit card sized mp3 player from our friends at Brando WorkShop, it's officially called the USB Flash Card MP3 Player , and it's the 2Gig capacity variety, which should be more than enough for most people...
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Thermaltake Max 4 Active Cooling eSATA and USB 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure Revi
2008-01-22 00:00:00
Hard drive enclosures come in many styles and many, many companies make them, but the majority of them lack any type of active cooling which in some cases could be a bad thing for your hard drive. I can understand why companies prefer to utilize a passive cooling solution, they're trying to keep the size down to keep it portable in an effort to persuade the consumer to buy their product because it's small and won't take up much space while traveling. Don't get me wrong, most passively cooled enclosure do a decent job at cooling but I'm not sure I would want to keep the hard drive powered on for hours at a time in such an enclosure, it's nice to be able to transfer what you need and then power it down. Thermaltake has sent me their Max 4 hard drive enclosure that features active cooling in the form of a silent 80mm fan that is only 15mm thick, so it really only adds about 15mm to the overall thickness of the enclosure and keeps your hard drive cool. The Max 4 also features du...
More About: Cooling , Active , Enclosure

Flexible Illuminated Full Sized Keyboard
2008-01-22 00:00:00
I've reviewed a couple flexible style keyboards and they have their place as something that is very easily portable allowing you to take a full sized keyboard with you wherever you go. Today I've got a flexible keyboard that's a bit different in that it features EL back-lighting allowing you to use it easily in low light situations, so let's just get into this review...
More About: Full , Keyboard , Flexible

SteelSeries SP Mousing Surface Review
2008-01-22 00:00:00
So, as promised today I have my review of the SteelSeries SP mousing surface or mousepad if you will, this pad has become my new favorite and for good reason, aesthetically it looks great, but it performs as a professional mousing surface should, flawlessly! The SteelSeries SP pad truly is a professional grade product, and I believe that anyone who decides to purchase this mousing surface will be very happy that they did, so continue on to check it out a bit further...
More About: Review , Surface

SteelSeries 5L Mousing Surface Review
2008-01-22 00:00:00
I've reviewed many SteelSeries products and they've always been excellent in their quality and very good at doing what they were made to do. They recently sent me two mousepads for review, the one I will be looking at today is the 5l Gaming Mousepad, it's a hybrid pad that I was actually kind of excited to get for review. It combines hard and soft surfaces to make something that is a bit different and unique, but I found that it's not perfect, the pad itself is great but the construction is a bit lacking... So read on to learn what I found in my time with this product...
More About: Review , Surface

Kingston Media Reader Hi-Speed 19-in-1 Card Reader Review
2008-01-11 00:00:00
While I was reviewing the Kingston CompactFlash Ultimate 266X 4GB Card , I ran into an issue with read speeds on the compact flash cards I was testing, luckily my contact at Kingston was able to send out a press sample of the Kingston 19-in-1 Card Reader , besides helping me finish that review, this card reader has become the swiss army knife for all my flash memory needs. With nineteen different reader interfaces, I challenge you to find a popular flash memory card that this device will not be able to read. Flash readers are great for transferring data from flash media and for using memory cards as portable storage. The 19-in-1 Card Reader is a USB 2.0 reader, with its small form factor and retractable USB cable, this device is portable to be carried with a laptop and stylish enough to be displayed out on ones desk. Let’s get started…..
More About: Media , Review , Speed

SmarThumb Software Review
2008-01-11 00:00:00
Last year we took a look at a few useful programs from SmarThumb, these programs are small and made to be installed on a USB Drive and taken with you as a portable suite of different types of software. They've recently released Vista compatible versions of their more popular tools and have me to check them out and give my impressions. One thing interesting about working with companies is that I sometimes get to actually help in the development of products, especially software like this. When I first received it I found a couple bugs and of course reported them and asked to be advised on how to proceed. So of course I got on IM with the developer and we spent a few hours bouncing back and forth and trying out different versions of the software to make sure it's 100% compatible with Vista. I'm not going to go into boring details about all that, but with my help new versions of the software were released that now function as they should. I'm sure I won't get credit or anything...
More About: Software , Review

EVGA e-GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 256-P2-N761-AR Video Card Review
2008-01-11 00:00:00
So with the latest bunch of game releases are you noticing that your system just isn't quite up to the task of playing these games? Is the new 8800 line of video cards just not in your budget, but yet you still need to upgrade to something better? There are budget cards out there that are very capable of running the latest games in DX9 and DX10, of course you're not going to max the video settings but the games still look great. I've got two EVGA 8600GTS video cards for review today, not quite a budget card but they won't set you back too much either. They're quite capable of playing the latest games like Crysis, Gears of War and COD4: Modern Warfare very comfortably and I think most people would be very happy with them. Sure I'd like to own a couple 8800s but it's not in my budget, so I get what I can afford, cheap but not too cheap! I still like to be able to play games and have them look nice as well. I went with these specific cards mainly because of the DDR3 that is ...
More About: Video , Card , Review , Video Card , Geforce

USBFever Auto/Car FM Transmitter Reviewed
2008-01-11 00:00:00
I remember a time when portable CD players were becoming popular and in-car cd players were considered a luxury item and not standard fair (yeah I'm that old) and I would use a tape adapter to connect my cd player to play through my car speakers. Today of course we have mp3 players that have essentially replaced those portable cd players, and now we also find cd players standard in our cars. Some car stereos have a line input for connecting your mp3 player and some of the higher end ones even feature a USB port or even a memory card slot, but those are more high end offerings and we're left we having to either upgrade or find an inexpensive way to connect our mp3 players to take our music with us. The product I've got for review today does just that, it inexpensively connects your portable mp3 player to your car stereo or any other stereo so you can take your music on the go, it's an FM Transmitter from our friends at USBFever. It utilizes the stations that are not in use i...
More About: Auto

Kingston CompactFlash Ultimate 266X 4GB Card Review
2008-01-11 00:00:00
Kingston is a highly regarded name in flash and computer memory. As the use of devices requiring flash memory grows at a phenomenal pace, the need for faster and bigger flash memory grows. One area of the market driving up demand for flash memory is digital photography. The digital SLR market in particular has caused a huge increase in Compact Flash sales and production. As digital SLR cameras become more prevalent, the need for faster and bigger Compact Flash Memory units increases. Kingston has release their latest version of professional speed Compact Flash Memory with the CompactFlash Ultimate 266X Memory card. These cards are specifically designed for devices that require fast write speeds such as digital SLR cameras. Available in 2, 4 and 8 GB capacities, these cards provide space for hundreds of megapixels of images. Let’s see how the Kingston CompactFlash Ultimate 266X 4GB Card stands against some other Compact Flash cards.
More About: Review , Kingston

iPhone Portable Power Station Review
2008-01-05 00:00:00
The folks from USBFever have sent us a new product that is scheduled for release at the end of January 2008. It is called the iPhone Portable Power Station and it designed to act as charging dock and a secondary battery for the iPhone. This device seems to be the ultimate solution for those times when you are away from an AC outlet and are unable to charge your iPhone. It seems perfect for those long trips, allowing you to stay connected for a longer period of time. Lets get started…..
More About: Iphone , Review

Scythe Ninja Copper Anniversary Model CPU Cooler
2008-01-05 00:00:00
Today we've got another CPU cooler up on the review block, been doing a lot of those lately, and I just got another one in for review yesterday... Anyway, the cooler I have for review today is one that many people have been talking about all over the internet, it's one that those same people and others have been waiting for its' arrival with baited breath and sweet anticipation, it's the Scythe Ninja Copper Anniversary Model CPU Cooler , and yeah... it's all that! So, I don't think anymore introduction is needed.... hit it.

Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU Cooler Reviewed
2008-01-04 00:00:00
Thermalright is a well known provider of quality thermal products and it's been awhile since we've taken a look at any Thermalright CPU Cooler s here at DragonSteelMods so I'm happy to be bringing you the Ultima 90 for review today. The Ultima 90 is a now familiar heatpipe style CPU cooler, but what makes the Ultima 90 special is its size, compared to most other tower heatpipe coolers out there today this thing is tiny. So with this review I can finally answer the age old question: Does size matter? Read on to find out...

GlacialTech Igloo 5750 PWM and Silent CPU Coolers Reviewed
2008-01-03 00:00:00
Not long ago we took a look at a couple GlacialTech 5610 Series CPU coolers, they are the smaller sized heatpipe variety and overall they are a decent performing cooling option. Today I've got two more CPU coolers from GlacialTech, these are the 5750 Series and they are much larger, offering 4 heatpipes, dual 92mm fans, a choice of silent or PWM versions and they should prove to be a great performer. So continue on to learn more about these CPU coolers...
More About: Silent , Altec

Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound Review
2008-01-03 00:00:00
There are so many companies out there now making their own thermal compounds now, most every company that makes a CPU cooler now has their very own thermal compound to go with it. Is that a bad thing? Not really, but how does a person know which one is really the best choice where the choices are so many? Well that's why there are sites like this one to help people make informed decisions by throughly testing these products and comparing them to the other leading brands out there. I just reviewed the Noctua NH-U12P CPU cooler and with it came a small sample of their new NT-H1 thermal compound, they also sent me a full tube as well to test for review purposes. It just so happened I was also in process of doing a thermal paste round-up comparison when this arrived for review so the timing was great to get a good comparison of the NT-H1 against the four others I'd already tested so far. So continue on to learn more about the new Noctua NT-H1 thermal compound and see how it compares ...
More About: Review , Thermal

USB2.0 Direct Link Cable
2007-12-31 00:00:00
I was thinking over the past year we've reviewed quite a few great products here at DragonSteelMods and many of them were very good, in fact quite a few were excellent and overall just extremely useful. I was contemplating possibly doing a year end round up list, not of the best products but of the products that we found the most useful, yeah there is a difference between best and most useful... Anyway, I'm glad I didn't start the list yet because the year isn't over yet, and because I just got something for review that I feel is the most useful gadget yet to come my way. There are numerous ways to transfer data and share files between computers, and of course the first thing that comes to mind is home networking, and well that can be a bit daunting for a beginner, even with the wizards included with Windows. I do quite a bit of transferring data between my laptop and my PC, and the same things for friends and relatives when they boink their systems up as well and I need t...
More About: Direct , Link , Cable , Direct link , Rect