Other products - 65 articles
Anything that doesn't fit in the other categories
Here at XSReviews we previously took a look at another Synology product known as the DS-210j which showed a lot of promise as a home enthusiast, or business user's NAS drive. Now though, we're looking at the much bigger brother. Faster, better looking and definately more expensive, ladies and gentlemen I give you the DS710+.
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Nexus produce a wide variety of products, from cases to CPU Coolers, Power Supplies, and duster cleaning materials? Seems Nexus feel that dusty PCs need a bit of attention, and the best way to go about it is with a cleaning spray specifically designed for internal PC components while being "Ozone Friendly."
Lets see how it does.
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In the last few years, as computing has become more mainstream with products like the Wii and the iPhone bringing these electronics into the homes and hearts of an ever expanding market of consumers, one of the largest growing fields is the storage industry. This has brought out a tonne of innovation and diversity, from hard drives, to SSDs, USB pen drives, portable hard drives and network ...
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Backing up and making sure your data is extra safe, is something people have been doing since the first digital storage device failed and someone realised they'd just lost a few bits of information. However, now with people having thousands of photographs, extensive movie and music collections, backup storage has never been more pertinent.
That said, there's no reason some extra features ...
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Into the big world of small gadgets, Veho come bearing their new Muvi Micro DV Camcorder. A minuscule 55mm from tip to toe, this bewilderingly petite device claims to be "officially the smallest high resolution DV camcorder in the world." In an era of the ubiquitous camera there's an awful lot of competition. Have Veho set their sights too high endeavouring to cram convenience and quality into ...
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Cryo PC are one of the gaming system manufacturers plugging away in the shadow of the giants, but they seem to put together some nice pieces of kit; for not too high a price either. Today we're looking at a machine called the Tetrad, which promises good performance, in a quiet and well put together machine. Of course every single gaming PC manufacturer says that, so it needs to be put to the ...
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Everyone has experienced wanting just that little bit more prestige to their sound if they are using a laptop, hating the poor quality of the built in speakers. If you want to try and boost the caliber a bit, or perhaps play sound from an mp3 player without having to use earphones then external speakers are usually your only choice.
These external speakers come in many shapes and sizes, from ...
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These days portable equipment is as ubiquitous as vomit in pub toilets, which in turn has meant a general move towards devices that allow you to recharge in-situ. Presumably so as to avoid the need to wipe said vomit from a nearby mains socket, and saving you the trouble of constantly needing to replace removable batteries. It's also standard practice to make just enough of your product ...
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With music becoming increasingly centred around the home computer, a decent set of PC-compatible speakers has become almost a necessity. Even leaving aside the tendency towards downloading - legal or otherwise - keeping your CD collection on a hard-drive is now common-place and provides many benefits. It's easier to organise, retrieve and backup media stored to disk than hundreds (or even ...
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Energy Sistem™ isn't exactly a common typo on the tip of the tongue, but - much like the problem of mysteriously vanishing remote controls - they've been around for a while. Barring the kleptomaniac hoardings of some thieving soon-to-be-ex friend, or a lonely and capacious housewife, the blame must lay squarely on our quest for progressively miniaturised technology. A quest manufacturers seem ...
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While storage space has stayed well ahead of software in terms of increasing capacities, because of duplicated and backed up data, most people now have a plethora of different storage solutions to hold their ever important information. There's pen drives, optical media, portable hard drives and more. However, the cheapest option of them all tends to be a run of the mill hard drive, with a docking ...
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With media becoming far more portable and universally accessible than ever before, the tide of products that help us enjoy our music and video on the move and within our own homes seems unlikely to abate anytime soon. With this in mind, lets continue the trend with today's review, the Veho MiMi Qube, a miniature wireless speaker that plays whatever your PC happens to be playing thanks to a small ...
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Surround sound and the home cinematic experience is a market that has been on the rise with users looking for crystal clear sound to give the full-fat experience whether it is with movies, games or music. The German speaker specialist, Teufel, may not be that well known in the UK, but in other European countries it appears to be building up a strong reputation for its high quality speaker sets. ...
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While the majority of readers of sites like this will be builders of their own PCs, there are some of you that will always consider purchasing a pre-built one. The reasons for doing so are multitudinous. Not only do you get a professionally built unit, but you get a nice fat warranty and in the case of many, a guaranteed functioning overclock without the need for all that tweaking and ...
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Customization, style and aesthetics play a huge part in modern computer design with each user attempting to outdo one another with an array of glitzy components and other features. Some of these features such as cathodes and LEDs achieve an instant impact but there are more subtle ways to jazz up the innards of your PC case.
For water cooling enthusiasts, coloured tubing is often a ...
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The webcam has revolutionised communications with users now able to not only speak to one another over the internet but now also see them; and most importantly, cheaply. With IM services, such as Skype and MSN, all offering video calls, the demand for webcams is still pretty high and manufacturers are always coming up with new ways to sell their products; whether it is animated functions or the ...
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BEAST, founded in 2005, was formed with the idea of creating a trusted identity that could be relied upon for gaming and also providing great support. Describing their computers as ‘beasts’ instead of just a rig, the company clearly has faith in their products using only the highest quality of components.
Today, we have one such beast here to take for a spin; the Breed Evo. It uses the new ...
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A growing amount of USB peripherals and devices are being produced and for a large amount of PC enclosures, there are a limited amount of USB ports on the front panel. To make it easier to plug in different devices such as printers, headsets and hard drive enclosures, enthusiasts are turning towards USB hubs. One such company that has a whole host of USB related products is Sitecom. Today’s ...
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The thermal paste market is very vast with many different companies having their own brand or brands; plural. Despite not making as much temperature difference as upgrading a cooler, thermal grease is an integral part of any computer system in supporting the main cooling for your CPU and GPU. A good paste will not only give great temperature readings but will also be easy to spread and clean off ...
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With the wide range of games on different consoles, they give rise to some interesting accessories and peripherals. We've seen mech controllers that are 4ft long on the original Xbox, Wii motes, Light guns, dance mats and a whole host of others. Sometimes though, these accessories have their own accessories; like the Speedblack. This gaming platform is designed to give you a sturdy surface to ...
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While normally at XSR we deal with PC hardware only, we occasionally get an interesting gadget of sorts to check out. Recently I was contacted by a company called Proporta to review some of their products; being the greedy git I am, accepted. Today I'll be checking out their Emergency Universal Charger. A handy little gadget that fits in your pocket while carrying a large charge. Let's see if we ...
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Today going under scrutiny at XSReviews is one of the less sought-after products in the enthusiast hardware industry, something expected to come with your case – a card reader. However, this is not simply a bog standard card reader but in fact a multi-function controller and media card reader, or so the manufacturer describes it as. Let’s see whether this product is all it’s cracked up to be. ...
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Personal computers have changed somewhat in recent years. As well as the ordinary work related tasks, our PC’s are now becoming central media stations in our homes. With this in mind the popularity of TV Cards being used in systems has also increased. Today I’ll be reviewing the VideoMate E650 a DVB-T and Analogue TV Tuner Card.
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Over the past few years, external hard drive docks are becoming more and more popular as they allow the user to easily back up their data without having to install another HDD inside the case. AXP has kindly provided their latest Combo Station Block, let’s see how it performs.
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In these dark, uncertain times of financial instability where your business needs the most out of its employees, you need to keep track on who’s pulling their weight and who needs to pull something out. KeeLog has thought of one such way of monitoring your employee's computers in the way of an undetectable hardware key logger. Immoral, perhaps, but lets see if it's as useful as ...
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Thanks to advancements in technology and reductions in manufacturing costs over the last 10 years, TFTs have become more and more prevalent to the point where you can pick up a 22" for just over £150. In contrast to that, the highest end ones, are still damn expensive with the benchmark of 24" monitors often being the Dell Ultrasharp models costing around £400. However, to buck the trend even ...
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Here at XSR we’ve reviewed a lot of fans and talked endlessly about the importance of cooling and so on and so forth. However we seem to have neglected in the most part the role of the fan speed controller. In this age of HTPC, where silence is paramount, a fan speed controller is a very good idea. However can a controller compete with small programs that run in the back ground, a growing number ...
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When visiting the Channel Expo trade show in Birmingham a few months ago, I stumbled upon one booth with a product that really caught by eye. The booth was owned by "TheGamingCollection.co.uk" who were demoing a new version of the classical gaming chair, this one called the Renegade. It features speakers in headrests, 12 individual motors for rumble response from the chair itself, and a built in ...
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As Spire say, they are a name synonymous with quality and innovation and most innovative companies respond aptly to market trends. One of these trends is that many people now have expensive high end graphics cards and prolonging their life has become paramount for many. With that in mind, Spire have sent the "Powerfuse" over-voltage surge protector for us to review.
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SATA cables aren’t the most interesting of products in the computer sector and most motherboard manufacturers bundle them as freebies. However, some SATA cables are said to increase airflow, provide better cable management and offer better transfer speeds, but is any of this true? Well today I have a UV blue Akasa Serial ATA cable for review, so let’s find out.
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For all the things Razer are known for, one thing that's always present in their products is style. While they've had some big hits, and some unfortunate misses over the past couple of years, it's always there. Unsurprisingly then, their latest release, developed with THX, is not devoid of flare either. The Razer Mako is it's name, and though it might be an impressive looking setup, how does it ...
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For the most part, you’ll be gaming with your multi-GPU system with a similar quantity of CPU cores and a couple of gigs of RAM and your nice TFT screen. But with the sounds coming from the OEM speakers you stole from an old shop-bought machine, you’ll be giving your eyes the lion-share of the entertainment while your ears are subjected to tinny, two channel sound.
With nearly every ...
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Fansis make several noise dampening products for your PC. The one I will be taking a look at today is the FS-PSU model designed to reduce vibration coming from that chunky block at the back of your rig.
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Many heatsinks come with a nicely machined interface pad to make a perfect connection with your CPU. However, there are some which look they could use a bit of work to get to the optimum state of shine and flatness.
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The one thing that every gamer wants is to frag their opponent in the latest FPS at max graphics, max resolution. However, sometimes the fight needs to be taken to reality and there are few companies that cater for this market.</p>
<p>Step in NZXT who have decided that giving reviewers a four foot solid steel sword is a good idea.
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MSI produce a myriad of different components. From motherboards to graphics cards, mp3 players to webcams. Speaking of which, today I am testing their newest little cam, the Starcam Genie.
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With the inclusion of all kinds of media extras on motherboards and graphics cards (high quality audio and HDMI output), it seems only natural for your computer to become a place for TV signals to be shown. Most of the time you’ll have to use a PCI add-in card to get your favourite episodes on your screen, but today I have MSI’s Digivox mini II which enables USB 2.0 usage.
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Even though CPU’s are getting more and more powerful, with a large percent left idle, there are more dedicated add-in cards than ever. With physics processing units (PPU’s), GPU’s, it isn’t so strange that there is a NPU (network processing unit). That’s exactly what BigFoot have brought to the table with their Killer NIC which has a fairly hefty price tag, and hopefully performance to ...
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In the past XSReviews has worked quite closely with Ageia, reviewing their hardware and testing out some of their supported games to see how PhysX effects gameplay and ultimately, to see if that extra add-in card is worth it. Recently I had the pleasure of conducting a lengthy interview with Dan Forster who is the PR and Marketing manager for Ageia in Europe and he was able to answer some of our ...
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Around a year and a half after their original release, PhysX cards still cause much controversy when discussion about them begins. They have the usual fanboys and skeptics and all those in between. No one can deny however, that there hasn't been many games that really utilize the PhysX PPU (Cell Factor is perhaps the only one) and shows off what the technology can really do. Now Ubisoft have ...
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Zalman are most well known for their exploits in the cooling and case making side of computers. Today however I have their cryptically named ZM-MFC2 which is your standard fan controller with a wattage twist. With rising temperatures and noise levels, this controller might just be the ticket to quieter/cooler computing
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With the introduction of HDTV, HDCP and HDMI ready graphics cards, the media market is beginning to expand to encompass PC’s. In a bid to make them more accessible to the public, SoundGraph released their iMon display module complete with remote. After testing Silverstone’s use of this module, I have SoundGraph’s own; the iMon Ultra Bay
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Compro Technology, the leading company to develop and market PC graphics and multimedia products. With highly motivated and experienced engineers, innovation is the main focus at Compro. We combine the latest hardware and software technologies to provide outstanding quality products on the rapidly evolving PC and multimedia market.
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Media center PC’s are all the rage these days, with people swapping out their stand-alone DVD players for slim PC’s. Unfortunately, a PC doesn’t have its own screen like a DVD player. And that’s where SilverStone come in, or should I say SoundGraph?
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Ageia and their PhysX technology have taken some serious flack since they first introduced the idea of a dedicated PPU (Physics Processing Unit). Despite this however, they have struggled on, getting their hardware supported in many a popular game. Recently, Cell Factor also came into play, a game that practically runs like a PhysX benchmark. Just over a year on from our original PhysX review how ...
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Once we were there we were greeted by the enthusiastic Antec rep who was more than happy to tell of their latest products. They were mainly showing off their cases, including the new Antec P190 which builds on the success of the older P180 case and other Performance One enclosures.
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At Expo there was undoubtedly going to be some stands that drew larger crowds than others. While we were there it became quite clear that the winner in terms of crowd appeal and interest from press and general public alike was the SteelSeries one. This booth featured a nice lounging area of "Fatboy" bean bags, a few racks of mouse mats, several foam heads sporting the legendary Steelsound and ...
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At Expo myself and SorX met a fair few representatives of companies we hadn't heard of before. Having spotted the Revoltec stand on the first day, but giving it some space due to the large crowd that it drew, we rose fresh faced on the 29th and headed straight for it. Upon reaching their orange and black flecked stand we were greeted by the giant of a man that is Ralf Hamann. Now it could be said ...
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Since computing is generally a bit of a male orientated interest, it never hurts to have a few good looking females to draw in the punters; Channel Expo was no different. Granted it was on a bit of a smaller scale that CeBIT but there was still a good bit of ass n' titties (thank you chauvinistic Rap artists) on display.
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Their main attraction was their new 24” widescreen flatscreen monitor promising 1000:1 contrast ratio, 178 degree viewing angel, 8ms response time, a huge 1920x1200 resolution and HDMI input.
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There are several products out there that appeal directly to the nerd nation merely because of the extreme technology put into it. The Optimus Mini three is the precursor, and ‘beta test’ for the full Optimus Keyboard and gives you an insight into the world of OLEDs and what can be done with them. Lets have a look…
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We all, from time to time, need to replace our CPU cooler which means that we have to get rid of the old thermal pad/grease/paste. Instead of turning to White Spirt or tramps favourite turpentine, Akasa have made TIM Clean which has been designed for this very purpose.
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You can get chrome fan grills, glossy case paint and tinted side windows; in fact your computer can quite easily be pimped up to look like its straight out of the hood. On this note, Jetart have decided to join in the computer beautifying business and have made… diamond heatpaste. Read on for the full run down.
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Noiseblocker have been around for some time silently (notice the pun?) removing noise from PC’s all over the world. Today I have their NB-X-Swing which sounds like something that you would find in a sex shop, but no, it’s a HDD noise reduction device.
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Whenever I think/hear of the name ‘Silverstone’ I think of an extreme aluminium fetish. Far from being a bad thing, every product that they make has a fair percentage of the ultra light metal in it. The MS04 external HDD enclosure is no different, the curved body and inner tray is their trademark brushed aluminium. Whilst it is undeniably sexy, let’s see whether it performs as well…
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Since the internet was created, it’s brought people closer. Then broadband came along and opened the door to streaming video and webcams. Today I have the MSI StarCam which includes a microphone meaning it should contain everything for you to chat, wave or dance to your long distance buddies.
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Crucial make USB drives, just like many other companies. Except they make FAST USB drives… Today I have the Crucial Gizmo! Overdrive secure 1gb drive which will be put though its paces to find whether it’s the one for you.
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Sytrin; a fairly unknown company who produce some highly original products, including air conditioned cases. Today however, I have their HDD cooler; the KuFormula SHF1 Ultra.
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The 21st century is truly the age of communication. Sites like Myspace, Blogger and Bebo and catering to millions of people daily. Established communications tools like MSN Messenger and Skype are now as vital to the average web junky as their pop tarts and powerade. To help you improve your web presence for a low price, Speed Link has produced the Cyclon, an affordable solution for everyone.
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Ever wanted to store a HDD out of your PC which had sensitive data on? Well, to stop your valuable information going down the drain, Jetart have made the CK6000 HDD Guard.
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here are only a few things we haven't reviewed here at XSR, one of those is a TFT monitor; today that's going to change. This particular model is the HC174DP from Hanns G. This 17" monitor with built in speakers is a fantastic budget choice for gamers and casual PC users alike, read on to find out why.
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This review is all about a product that is said to be the next leap in the gaming hardware world. Not only are we now able to run quad graphics card setups in SLI or Crossfire mode, Dual core processors and more, we are now able to run the physics of games through a single processing unit, a PPU (Physics Processing Unit). The principles of PPU technology is that by running all game physics ...
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You touch it all the time, and the feeling has to be right; your mouse is your key input to your PC. That's why PCXmods decided to make Mouse Grips. They are small pieces of self-adhesive rubber that can be placed anywhere on your mouse to make using your mouse even better.
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Dual screens are now almost common place in the gaming world due to graphics cards having two outputs; each screen having millions of pixels always doing exactly what you tell them. It’s strange to think that a display capable of displaying a mere 20x4 characters is so appealing.
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As games become more and more realistic, and more and more emotional, gamers around the world are beginning to have much more of a physical reaction to the games they play. They can become jittery, tense, sweaty and their arms and wrists suffer from this as they are constantly in a sate of tension. Enter Steelpad, the creators of the legendary Steelpad mousemat, who have produced a “Gaming Glove” ...
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