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Noctua NH-U12P CPU Cooler Reviewed
2007-12-27 00:00:00
I've reviewed quite a few Noctua products in the past on DragonSteelMods and I have found everyone that I reviewed to be an overall excellent product. Noctua makes great products, there is no doubt about that, you can look all over the internet and you'll be hard pressed to find a negative comment or review about any of their products. The only negative comments I have seen about Noctua products are their prices, they are a bit high compared to others, but there is a saying 'You get what you pay for' and this is very true as most of us know. To get a premium quality product you'll pay a premium price, personally I don't think Noctua products are over-priced at all, they are priced competitively with other comparable products of the same quality and performance. So, without further comments, I've got the new Noctua NH-U12P CPU cooler for review today and it is what we've come to expect from Noctua: excellent quality and performance. So continue on...
More About: Cooler

USB Star Hub Reviewed
2007-12-25 00:00:00
USB hubs come in all shapes and sizes these days, you can find them in many themes as well, but the majority of these hubs have one inherent flaw: The spacing of their ports, they are usually too close together to allow multiple devices to be connected at the same time. Today for review I've got the USB Star Hub from our friends at Brando WorkShop, this hub eliminates this problem by providing ports that can be rotated 180 degrees allowing pretty much any sized device to be attached. The Star Hub itself is very colorful and seems to be well made, it's also lightweight making it portable to take with you anywhere you need to.

World's Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub
2007-12-25 00:00:00
Yesterday we took a look at the Star Hub from our friends at Brando WorkShop, I found it to be very portable, well made and useful with only one small drawback... Today I figured I'd take a look at another USB Hub, this one is from our friends at USBFever and it's called the World's Smallest USB 2.0 4-Port Hub. Is it the world's smallest? Not sure, but I'm betting it is as I've never seen any that are smaller... It's very well made with a metal housing, and of course being so small makes it very portable.

Nero 8 Ultra Edition Review
2007-12-22 00:00:00
The product I have for review today really needs no introduction, pretty much everyone knows what Nero is... but today for review I've got Nero 8 Ultra Edition and it features many improvements over Nero 7 including a re-designed StartSmart interface. I personally love Nero and have always used it as my main software for burning and creating CDs or DVDs. Some people out there complain that Nero is bloated and there's just too much stuff with it, I happen to like having all of these great programs in one suite of tools where I can essentially do most anything I need to with my CDs and DVDs. To get the functionality you get from Nero you'd have to buy and install a lot of different programs which would easily cost quite a bit more than Nero itself does. So continue on to learn more about the new Nero 8 Ultra Edition, I've got tons of information and screenshots of everything for you to browse and see what's new in Nero 8...
More About: Review

Wooden USB Memory Strap 2GB Thumbdrive
2007-12-21 00:00:00
Got Wood? USB drives come in all shapes and sizes and most have that cold technological look to them, while that's nice for what the product is, sometimes it's nice to add a bit of a more natural touch to things techie... When people think of technological related items they think cold, metal, shiny, flashy, noisy etc, but sometimes it's nice to get back to our roots... Today for review I've got a USB drive that doesn't look like a USB drive, it pretty much looks like a block of wood... Mahogany to be exact, and it looks nothing like one would expect a USB drive to look, it might even be considered a disguise for your drive to make people not want to steal it, a built-in anti-theft feature. Anyway, I've always loved the look and feel of finished wood, there's just something warm and natural about it in contrast with the cold technology I'm surrounded by most of the time. It might look nice but in regards to a USB drive looks aren't everything are they? it needs to pe...
More About: Memory , Strap , Wooden

Come try out the 3rd Space Vest from TNGames
2007-12-20 00:00:00
Hey-Hey…If any of you are from Pittsburgh, or close to Pittsburgh… I’ll be at the Pittsburgh Cyberconxion tomorrow (Saturday December 15th) from 4pm to 8pm demonstrating and letting people try out the TNGames 3rd Space Vest . I’ve got it for review and I thought what better way to test it out than let gamers use it. I’ll be recording their experiences and reactions to be used for part of the actual review to be posted over at DSM.Of course I’ve got a bunch of stuff to give away while I’m there as well to random people who help me out to test the vest.

OtterBox for iPhone (Otterbox 1940 Case) Review
2007-12-20 00:00:00
Otterbox makes some of the toughest cases for electronic devices in the world. In another DragonSteelMods review, I called one of their cases “armor for your iPod”. Now, the folks at Otterbox have unleashed their version of an iPhone case. This case encapsulates the iPhone and keeps it safe from most every form of elemental danger. Does the OtterBox for iPhone (Otterbox 1940 Case ) live up to the standards of the OtterBox for iPod and Treo cases? Today, we will look at it and see if this case is truly, the Ultimate protection for ones iPhone. Let’s get started…..
More About: Iphone , Review

3rd Space Gaming Vest -Full Review
2007-12-20 00:00:00
Over the past few months there has been quite a bit of hype about the 3rd Space Gaming Vest , I'm sure you've read it all, but I haven't seen a review yet... till now that is. I've got it, I've tested it, and to provide you with the best possible review of this product I took the 3rd Space Vest to the Pittsburgh Cyberconxion LAN center to let actual gamers use it, and to get their honest reactions and opinions of this very cool gaming product. Believe the hype folks, this is the real deal... everyone who tried this product absolutely loved it! So, continue on to learn more about this great product, see the movies of gamers using it and check out a few interviews I did with a couple of them to get their reactions... oh and of course you'll see all the cool pictures and get my opinions as well... I did a bit of Googling and I believe this is the first official review of the 3rd Space Gaming Vest! Check it out....
More About: Review , Full

iPod / iPhone Stereo Earphone Adapter
2007-12-20 00:00:00
One of my biggest gripes with the iPhone is the recessed headphone jack. This jack configuration eliminates the majority of consumer headphones because they use a standard 3.5mm headphone plug. Until recently, the only options for getting an iPhone headphone adapter was to buy one of the bulky models from Belkin or buying an iPod Shuffle headphone extension cable on ebay. Luckily, the folks at USBFever have come to the rescue with their iPod / iPhone Stere o Earphone Adapter . This little device can get your Shure/Bose/Etymotic headphones working on your iPhone. Let’s take a closer look…..
More About: Iphone , Ipod

OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel 2Gig Kit OCZ2N800SR2GK
2007-12-20 00:00:00
OCZ Technology has become the worldwide leader as a maker of performance ram, or any ram for that matter. If you want your system running at peak performance and the best that it can be then you have to have OCZ ram in there. They've sent me over their 2gig kit of PC2-6400 SLI-Ready ram, not only does it look really cool with the black heatspreaders and the Nvidia SLI logo in the center, it out performs top quality ram running at PC2-8500 speeds easily. This ram from OCZ also features an EPP mode that allows you to run at timings of 4-4-4-15 @ 1T, and I also found that it easily hits the 1100Mhz mark while overclocking. So read on to check it out, I've got tons of tests and benchmarks running under Windows Vista and XP...
More About: Channel , Edition , Dual

Noctua NF-P12 120MM Fan Review
2007-12-09 00:00:00
We've reviewed quite a few fans here at DragonSteelMods lately and today we've got yet another one, but this one is a bit different, it's from Noctua . At first glance the NF-P12 looks like other Noctua fans, but upon closer inspection you'll notice it has what appears to be serrated fan blades. The serrations are called Vortex-Control Notches actually and they help to keep the NF-P12 running quietly and efficiently at all of the available speeds. I've always been a fan of Noctua products, one reason I like them is their appearance, they say looks aren't everything, but with Noctua their looks are part of their charm. I've also found that their products perform consistently well in all of my testings, but the main reason I like Noctua products is for the amount of time and money that goes into their R D of all of their products. Noctua is a company committed to producing high-quality, high-performance products and will do whatever it takes to achieve those goals.
More About: Review

Review: Scythe Ultrakaze 120mm Fans
2007-12-08 00:00:00
Previously on DragonSteelMods…..Kris reviewed the Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fans . Today, I will be looking at the bigger brother of the Slip Streams, the Ultrakaze fans. With three rpm versions, there is bound to be one Ultra Kaze fan to fit your cooling needs. The Slip Streams scored a perfect 5/5 on Kris’ review; let’s see if the Ultra Kaze 120mm fans can match that rating. Let’s get started…..
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GlacialTech IGLOO 5610 Silent & IGLOO 5610 PWM CPU Coolers Reviewed
2007-12-06 00:00:00
I've got two CPU coolers up on the review block today from GlacialTech. You might be wondering why I'm reviewing two CPU coolers at the same time but that's because they are basically the same coolers just with different types of fans on them. The GlacialTech Igloo 5610 Silent CPU Cooler features a silent fan that run at 1600RPM, while the Igloo 5610 PWM features a fan that can be controlled via the BIOS if your motherboard supports it to run from 800RPM to 2600RPM allowing you full control over the cooling and overall noise level of your system.
More About: Altec

Review: USB 2.0 5.1 Audio Adapter with Microphone Jack
2007-12-05 00:00:00
Many newer PC motherboards come with an integrated audio solution. Some of these integrated audio choices work well and some leave a lot to be desired. However, there are still a few motherboards without integrated audio and some legacy boards may lack this feature as well. If this is the case, the folks at USBFever have a handy solution – the USB 2.0 5.1 Audio Adapter with Microphone Jack . This small USB device offers many features found in a PCI sized audio card. Included are stereo 5.1 sound effects, virtual speaker shifting, surround sound and more. Plus this USB dongle has a jack for both speaker/headphones and a microphone. Now this product is marketed for Windows machines, but I will let everyone in on a little secret. It works on Macs as well. Today we will look at this small audio dongle and see if its sound compares to more expensive solutions. Let’s get started….
More About: Review

Review: USB Wireless PC Timer Lock
2007-12-05 00:00:00
PC security is something that most people take seriously at least the software end of it, they go out and buy anti-virus software, firewalls, spam blocker, pop-up blockers etc. Most people don't think about what happens when they walk away from their computer to go the restroom, fill up their coffee or whatever, most people just leave their PC unattended and open for anyone to access. I've got a little gadget today that can solve that problem and has the ability to act as a parental control as well, it's called the USB Wireless PC Timer lock and it's from our friends at USBFever. It's very easy to use and comes in quite handy to secure your PC if you forget. It works with two parts, a transmitter and receiver that are wirelessly connected to each other. One part looks like a USB thumbdrive that plugs into your computer, the other looks sort of like a small car security key fob. When these are separated by more than two meters your PC will lock, and only a password or bringing ...
More About: Review , Lock

Lapinator Laptop Desk and Mousitizer Review and Comparison
2007-12-01 00:00:00
I've reviewed several laptop desks, stands and cooling pad types of accessories over my years of reviewing products and I've really yet to find one that is perfectly designed the way I want it to be, or at least how I think it should be. Today for review I've got another product in the laptop desk category, the Lapinator, and they've also sent me the Mousitizer accessory as well to go with it. I can easily say that the Lapinator is one of the better products of this type, it does what it is advertised to do, it keeps the heat from your legs. Keeping the heat away from you though isn't everything a laptop desk should do, it should be comfortable, well made, and it should also help keep your laptop cool. The Lapinator is and does most of this well, but I've put it up against three others that I have on hand as a comparison, so continue on to learn more about the Lapinator and see how it stands up to the competition...
More About: Laptop , Review , Comparison , Desk

Holiday Buying Guide -Wish List
2007-11-29 00:00:00
As the Holiday Season approaches, we at DragonSteelMods.com have compiled a list of items we would like to open up during the giving season. Whether it is a tech gadget, some software or our personal favorite, PC hardware, this list will offer something for everyone.
More About: Buying , List , Guide , Guid

Review: Thermaltake Matrix VX Mid Tower PC Case
2007-11-28 00:00:00
“Stiff as a board, light as a feather, stiff as a board, light as a feather...” Ever play that game when you were a kid? I didn't, but I've always wanted too... Anyway today I've got a PC case where its motto is similar to that: 'Light as a Feather, Solid as a Rock' and it's very true. When I got the Thermaltake Matrix VX from the UPS guy I wasn't sure there was anything in the box, this case is the lightest case I have ever had the pleasure of reviewing. The fact that it's light doesn't mean it's not sturdy, it really is, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and construction of this PC case.
More About: Review , Case , Tower , Malt

Thermaltake iXoft / Lapinator Plus Comparison Review
2007-11-27 00:00:00
laptop desk from LapWorks (http://www.dragonsteelmods.com/index.php ?option=com_content&task=view&id=168&Item id=38). Today, I return to my roots to look at two new laptop desk/thermal mat solutions. The first is from the folks at Thermaltake, who are known for their various PC cases, components and desktop accessories. They have a released the uniquely named iXoft, which is a thermal mat, that is light weight, portable and fits laptops from twelve to seventeen inches. The other product I will be looking at today is the equally uniquely named – Lapinator Plus from a company aptly named - Lapinator. Now this sounds like a laptop desk worthy of a certain governor from California. The Lapinator Plus provides eighteen inches of work space and is designed to be comfortable as well as cooling. Weighing in at 15 ounces, it is certainly one of the lightest laptop desk solutions available. Let’s see how these two products stack up and how well they keep a laptop cool and comfort...
More About: Review , Comparison , Malt

Review: Scythe 120mm Slip Stream Fans
2007-11-27 00:00:00
Scythe is very well known for excellent cooling solutions, many of the CPU coolers are sought after for their excellent cooling abilities. Today for review I've got five of Scythes new 'Slip Stream ' 120mm fans ranging from 500rpms to 1900rpms. Do they live up to Scythes excellent reputation? Read on to find out...
More About: Fans , Review

Review: GlacialTech Altair A380 HTPC Case
2007-11-27 00:00:00
HTPC systems are very popular for various reasons, but still really haven't come into the full mainstream for whatever reasons that may be. For those of us that DIY our systems though we have many choices when it comes to creating our own HTPC setups. Today I've got the Altair A380 HTPC Case from GlacialTech, it's a great looking case with lots of features including built-in card reader, included remote/IR setup and an included power supply. In my time with this case though I ran into a couple design flaws that have an impact on its' compatibility and make it not quite as user-friendly as I would have liked. Overall though it's a great looking and well designed case that if chosen for an HTPC system will need some additional considerations during the build to make it work correctly...
More About: Review , Altec

Review: Hades-Gaming Styx GP1 Gaming Mousepad
2007-11-23 00:00:00
Tonight we game in HELL!! Err, well sort of anyway... The product I've got for review today is from a new company called Hades-Gaming . It's a gaming mousepad called the Styx GP1, and honestly I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and overall performance of this mousepad. It not only looks very cool with it's metallic red surface, but it's very slick and highly accurate. The Styx GP1 is a cloth and plastic hybrid type of pad, it has a hard surface but yet it can be rolled for storage or transporting. It's the first of it's kind that I've had the chance to review and I am truly impressed by it's quality and accuracy in all thins I've done with it.
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Review: Ultra Slim USB 2.0 4 Port Hub
2007-11-22 00:00:00
Many times when using my laptop I've found that I just don't have enough USB connections for things I need to plug in and use, I'm sure a lot of you have run into this problem from time to time as well. There are all sorts of USB Hubs out there today, but most are usually made of plastic and just not that durable and really won't last long being tossed around in you laptops bag. USBFever has sent me over the tiny Ultra Slim USB 2.0 4 Port Hub that is made from metal and plastic making it very durable and very portable as well. It comes with a built in USB cable as well so you'll never have to worry about loosing or needing to find a USB cable to use with it.
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Review: SteelSeries 5H v2 Headset
2007-11-20 00:00:00
About a month ago I took a look at the SteelSeries 4h headset, I found it to be quite capable, well made and with excellent sound quality, today I have the SteelSeries 5H v2 headset that has all the features and more of the 4H. The 5H v2 headset is touted as one of the most popular gaming headsets in the world, and used by many talented gamers to win major gaming events. With that kind of hype one can only expect great things from this product. Read on to find out if it lives up to the hype or not...
More About: Headset , Review , Erie

Review: 3M Vikuiti Privacy Filter PF14.1 for 14.1" Notebook and LCD Display
2007-11-20 00:00:00
Privacy is something very important to me, and I think most people feel the same way as I do. If I'm sitting in the local coffee shop with my laptop I really don't want people looking to see what I'm doing, even if it's just browsing the web or writing a review, it doesn't matter to me what it is really, it comes down to the fact that I feel it's none of their business what I'm doing. Normally what I'm doing isn't some state secret or something confidential, but what if you are doing something like that? Then you really don't want people to see what you're doing do you? If you're in an airport or coffee shop with lots of people, it's very easy for people to see what you're doing if they really want to. 3M has come out with a Privacy Filter called the Vikuiti for just such occasions, it can be used on your laptop or on a standard LCD or CRT display. It's very easy to install, lightweight and it works very well...
More About: Notebook , Review , Privacy , Display

Review: USB AAA Battery Charger with Torch
2007-11-20 00:00:00
We all have gadgets and we all forget to charge their batteries, it's happened to all of us many times,be it a cellphone, iPod or whatever we've all done it more than once. Wouldn't it be nice to have a small portable gadget that could help us out when we 'forget' to charge our batteries? Now there is and it's more than just a gadget to charge your devices when you forget to, it's actually it's own charger as well. This little gadget can charge two or four 'AAA' batteries via USB and use those to charge your devices. There are numerous adapters for many brands of cellphones available as well for it. It works with a normal USB connection, but also comes with a special power connection to be used in conjunction with the adapters. The USB AAA Battery Char ger with Torch from USBFever also includes a little LED light making it even more useful. Not only can you charge and use rechargeable batteries with this device but you can use standard batteries as well if need be to giv...
More About: Review , A battery

Review: Palm Z Silverlit Mini RC Indoor Airplane from HobbyTron.com
2007-11-20 00:00:00
Toys, toys, toys, I love them all, yep I'm just a big kid at heart and always will be. I especially like remote control toys, the smaller the better I say, and it seems they are getting smaller and smaller all the time. Last year the hot RC toy was the micro helicopter, this year it's the micro airplane, and that's what I've got today for review, specifically the Palm Z Silverlit Mini RC Indoor Airplane from HobbyTron.com. The Palm Z is tons of fun, it charges fast and has a decent flying time. So read on to learn more about it, and see a few movies as well...
More About: Review

Review: Saitek P3200 Force Rumble Gamepad
2007-11-19 00:00:00
Not long ago I took a look at the Saitek Cyborg P3600 Gamepad and I found it to be an excellent choice if you were in the market for a new pad, not only is it compatible with any game, but it featured the Cyborg Module that allowed the user to switch the positions of the d-pad and the left analog stick. Today for review I have another Saitek Rumble Gampad, the P3200. The P3200 is essentially a stripped down version of the P3600 Cyborg, but it still offers the same Saitek quality and can be used with pretty much any game out there. The P3200 is a very capable rumble enabled gamepad that most anyone would be happy with.
More About: Review , Force

Review: iFly Vamp Radio Control Ornithopter
2007-11-19 00:00:00
This November, the folks at Interactive Toy Concepts are releasing their version of the orthinopter, the iFly Vamp, an indoor/outdoor radio controlled flying bat. The iFly Vamp flies by using its wings. There are no propellers or other plane like structures on this unit. It looks and flies like a bat. With an ominous bat/dragonfly appearance, it will even scare some people including my 5 ½ year old daughter. Let’s take a closer look at the iFly Vamp and see if it lives up to its billing. Let’s get started…..
More About: Radio , Review , Control

Review: GIGABYTE GA-G33M-DS2R Intel G33 Bear Lake mATX Motherboard
2007-11-19 00:00:00
A lot of times when you want a feature packed motherboard you need to get a full ATX size, but as technology progresses this limitation is no longer there. It's becoming more popular to make fully featured Micro ATX form factor motherboards now that are easily comparable to their full sized counterparts. This works well for those that want a small sized PC or for an HTPC setup, but don't want a full sized case taking up room in their home entertainment system of office. Today I've got a very feature rich Micro ATX motherboard from Gigabyte , it's based off of the Intel G33 Bear Lake chipset, it's got tons of features with full support for the latest CPUs and even HD audio and video support as well for those who might want to use it for a higher end HTPC setup, or just a nice gaming rig. This motherboard is the GA-G33M-DSR2 model, and it's from Gigabytes' Ultra Durable 2 line of motherboards featuring all solid capacitors, ferrite core chokes and low RDS Mosfets to enable long...
More About: Review , Motherboard