10 December 201510 December 2015CoolingBy Tom Jaskulka

SilverStone TD03 Slim AIO Liquid Cooler Review

The Tundra line of coolers by SilverStone is about to get larger…by getting slimmer? Well, at least two of them are: the TD03 Slim and TD02 Slim. Containing aesthetics from the Tundra Lite coolers and coupling them with a slim radiator and fan (with a total rad/fan package height of 37mm), this AIO cooler seems custom-built for slim cases or anywhere where space is at a premium. Benchmark Reviews has the opportunity to investigate the cooling potential of the 120mm TD03 Slim – will it survive the cooling testbed? We’ll also see how this cooler performs in one of its “intended use” cases: the slim Fortress FTZ01.

3 December 201516 October 2017CasesBy Meng Vang

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv Galaxy Silver Case Review

The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX is a beautiful aluminum case with lots of water cooling flexibility. It includes great features like the innovated radiator bracket, support for Phanteks modular 3.5″ HDD brackets, and swivel side panels to complement the elegant 3mm thick aluminum exterior. The interior frame looks almost identical to the Enthoo Pro M due to the 2.5″ drop-N-lock mounts behind the motherboard tray and on the power supply chamber and the lack of interior HDD cages. Built specifically to target water cooling enthusiasts, the top and front of the case can support up to a 360mm or a 280mm radiator with plenty of space for a large reservoir. At Benchmark Reviews, we will be taking a look at the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX case in Galaxy Silver. Let’s go ahead and go through a quick overview of the case.

22 November 2015CasesBy Jason Vaught

SilverStone RAVEN RVZ02 Mini-ITX Case Review

The RAVEN line, SilverStone’s iconic and innovative line of gaming PC chassis, has become a staple in the gaming community for many years. Featuring unique designs, clean lines, and tough aluminum construction. RAVEN designers are expanding their approach to gaming in the SFF (Small Form Factor) market with the new RVZ02B-W. The -W stands for Window, as the regular RVZ02B only has black filters in place of clear vented windows. The RVZ02B-W is a Mini-ITX case that features a super slim design, and the ability to utilize full sized graphics cards.

22 November 2015AccessoriesBy Jason Vaught

SilverStone Hi-Fi Audio Headphone Stand Review

SilverStone, a leading provider of high quality computer cases, fans, PSUs, and other accessories, is now offering a blacked out version of their Hi-Fi Audio Headphone Stand in their Ensemble Series Audio lineup. The EBA01B is made of solid aluminum, with a 2cm thick base and weighing in at 3.26 pounds, and features the ability to hold up to two large headsets/headphones.

19 November 2015CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

SilverStone ML08 Mini-ITX Slim Case Review

Hot on the heels of Benchmark Review’s look at the Fortress FTZ01, SilverStone sent over their latest iteration of the mini-ITX “Z” chassis. Based off of the Raven RVZ02, today we have a chance to look at the Milo version: the ML08B-H. Following the same internal layout the Milo ML08 squeezes the same component clearances into an even slimmer chassis with some new tricks. New tool-less drive trays, a more accessible interior and two completely thermally isolated compartments identify this HTPC-oriented “Z2” case. Follow along as we take a closer look at the SilverStone ML08.

16 November 2015AccessoriesBy David Ramsey

SilverStone ECM20 m.2 Adapter Review

The m.2 form factor is becoming popular for SSDs due to its small size, and, in PCI-E guise, superior performance. As our recent test of the Samsung 950 Pro m.2 SSD has shown, PCI-E m.2 SSDs offer performance many times that of the very best SATA SSDs, so if you’re looking for a storage upgrade, m.2 is definitely the way to go. While m.2 slots are only available on the latest motherboards, SilverStone Technology’s ECM20 m.2 adapter card offers an inexpensive way for older systems to enjoy the performance and space savings of modern m.2 SSDs. Benchmark Reviews tests the ECM20 and compares the performance of a modern m.2 PCI-E SSD on this adapter card with its performance on a native m.2 port.

6 November 201521 August 2016CasesBy Meng Vang

Cooler Master MasterCase 5 Review

The Cooler Master MasterCase 5 offers an evolutionary way of customizing a computer system for any type of purpose. Whether it is for productivity or gaming, the MasterCase 5 is able to be upgraded to any configuration without much problem. With Cooler Master’s new FreeForm Modular System, computer users will now be able to take control in fully customizing the exterior and interior parts of the case.

4 November 20154 November 2015Accessories, PC Hardware ReviewsBy Tom Jaskulka

NZXT GRID+ V2 Digital Fan Controller Review

The NZXT Grid+ V2 is a voltage regulated, 30W digital fan controller fits in practically any case (it’s about the size of two SSDs stacked on top of each other) and adds digital fan control capability for up to eight fans across six separate channels. Join Benchmark Reviews as we take a quick look at the capabilities NZXT’s GRID+ V2 digital fan controller will bring to your build.

2 November 201530 November 2015CoolingBy Jason Maxfield

SilverStone Tundra TD02 Slim Liquid Cooler Review

In this article for Benchmark Reviews, I’ll be putting the SilverStone Tundra TD02 Slim liquid cooler to the test. As you might of guessed, the TD02 Slim is a thinner version of their bigger TD02 brethren. The TD02 Slim is designed to be compatible with more cases on the market, with a slim profile of just 37mm, including the radiator and fans. Can the TD02 Slim handle the heat? Let’s find out.

23 October 2015PeripheralsBy David Ramsey

Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid-i Keyboard Review

Benchmark Reviews has looked at a number of gaming keyboards of late, and most are stuffed with features: extra keys, elaborate macro definition software, dual-core CPUs and megabytes of RAM to hold all the key definitions and macros. And there’s also the elaborate RGB lighting that has become de rigueur in this market segment. So it’s almost a relief to see that the Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid-i is a compact, minimalist TKL (ten-keyless) version of their Quickfire Rapid series of gaming keyboards. Benchmark Reviews will check out this new minimalist entry to see if less really is more.

Samsung-VNAND-SSD-950-PRO-M2-NVMe-Sticker

22 October 20155 February 2018StorageBy Olin Coles

Samsung SSD 950 PRO Solid State Drive Review

In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the Samsung SSD 950 PRO, an M.2 solid state drive among the first to utilize the ultra-fast NVMe protocol, on both Intel X99 and Z170 platforms. Featuring Samsung’s second generation 32-layer MLC V-NAND, SSD 950 PRO M.2 is available in 256 GB and 512 GB storage capacities. The SSD 950 PRO utilizes Samsung’s UDX controller to deliver sequential read speeds up to 2500 MB/s and writes up to 1500 MB/s, while random read performance reaches up to 300,000 IOPS and write speeds up to 110,000 IOPS. Performance is further optimized with Samsung Magician software, and durability enhanced by the drive’s Dynamic Thermal Guard and AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption. 950 PRO includes a 5-year limited warranty, and promises up to 400 terabytes written (TBW) for 512GB model.

12 October 2015CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

SilverStone Fortress FTZ01 Mini-ITX Case Review

Generally, a few months after the Raven version is released, a premium Fortress version – sporting clean lines and a few tweaks here and there – will follow. This was the case with the RV01/FT01, RV02/FT02…well, you get the idea. When SilverStone released their first ITX Raven case – the RVZ01 – it was only a matter of time before the Fortress variant emerged. The RVZ01 was a unique chassis even by Raven standards; how would the FTZ01 manage to maintain that premium Fortress look and feel? Well, wrap it in a unibody aluminum exterior for starters. Follow along with Benchmark Reviews as we see what else has changed in the SilverStone Fortress FTZ01.

6 October 20153 January 2018Media PlayersBy Olin Coles

Beelink GTQ 4K Android TV Box Review

In this article for Benchmark Reviews, we test the Beelink GTQ Android TV BOX Media Center. Promoted as a 4K-ready media player with quad-core Amlogic S812 CPU and eight-core ARM Mali-450 GPU utilizing the new H.265 decoder ideal for 4K Ultra HD picture quality, the Beelink GTQ fills its compact metal shell with powerful hardware comparable to most laptop computers. While a 1000-Mb Gigabit Ethernet port is available, the Beelink GTQ also takes advantage of 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz wireless b/g/n networks.

1 October 2015CasesBy Tom Jaskulka

Silverstone ML06-E Mini-ITX HTPC Case Review

Still one of the only players in the very small form factor market, SilverStone has consistently iterated on its various designs to bring us new improvements and features, case after case. Not content to rest with their niche ML05 HTPC enclosure, they dressed up the exterior with a full aluminum panel and released the ML06. That isn’t the case Benchmark Reviews is reviewing here – SilverStone decided they weren’t done, and evolved the internals of the ML06 into the product we see here today: the ML06-E. Featuring re-worked internals but the same exterior dimensions, the ML06-E is poised to be the best of the series so far. Let’s take a closer look.

1 October 20151 October 2015StorageBy David Ramsey

Centon C-380 480GB SSD Review

Centon isn’t a name many enthusiasts will know. I’d never heard of the company myself until this review sample; apparently, they’ve been in business for over 35 years manufacturing DRAM and flash memory products, and have only recently entered the consumer marketplace. The Centon C-380 480GB SSD SATA-III Solid State Drive, part of the “Enthusiast Solutions” series, is the focus of what Benchmark Reviews will be putting through our test suite.

26 September 201526 September 2015CasesBy Jason Maxfield

Antec GX505 Window SC Mid-Tower Case Review

Antec was kind enough to ship me their GX505 Window SC mid-tower case to review. The Antec GX505 is part of the GX series of cases designed for gamers on a budget. The GX505 is a slight revision of the GX500 case. The main difference is the all new front and top panels, and a built-in fan controller switch.

Corsair VOID Wireless Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset

14 September 201514 September 2015AudioBy Greg Schepers

Corsair VOID Wireless Gaming Headset Review

In the world of computer peripherals and hardware, most of us are well aware of Corsair’s existence. This is an organization that has well-earned reputation for producing quality components; components that are going to be high-performing, intelligently designed, and very likely to provide its owners with years of service. Therefore, it is no surprise that when Corsair develops a new product, such as the Corsair VOID Wireless Dolby 7.1 Gaming Headset, it doesn’t take long before it is in high demand.

2 September 20153 September 2015StorageBy David Ramsey

ADATA Premier SP550 SSD Review

Founded in 2001, the Taiwanese company ADATA Technology Corporation specializes in memory-based products. A few years ago they branched out into SSDs, and have been competing aggressively on price/performance as SSD prices continue to fall. Benchmark Reviews has previously looked at the ADATA Premier SP550 mainstream and ADATA XPG SX930 performance SSDs; today we have the ADATA Premier SP550. With Hynix TLC NAND backed by a Silicon Motion controller and LDPC error correction, is the SP550 the price/performance sweet spot in ADATA’s lineup?

2 September 20152 September 2015ReviewsBy Olin Coles

Vertagear SL2000 Gaming Chair Review

Much like the beds we sleep in, it’s very important to select the right chair to sit in for a good portion of our lives. I owned a comfortable office chair that followed me around after college, and played several roles at the dining table on occasion. More recently, there was the expensive Embody chair review that stirred controversy. Now we’ve got gaming chairs, bringing style together with luxury. In this article for Benchmark Reviews, I report my test results with the Vertagear SL2000 S-Line Racing Series gaming chair.

11 August 201511 August 2015PeripheralsBy Greg Schepers

ROCCAT NYTH Modular Gaming Mouse Review

NYTH is billed as an MMO mouse, but ROCCAT is confident that it can be a world-beater no matter what game you are playing. In fact, ROCCAT states that the NYTH possesses, “deep button modularity that fluidly transitions into a MOBA or FPS master tool with ease.” Considering the features and specification that have been equipped on this well-endowed mouse and considering the track record of this company, it is easy to take ROCCAT’s word for it and believe that the NYTH will be another successful addition to what is already considered an outstanding gaming peripheral lineup. I have plenty of ROCCAT devices, so I have no reason not to believe the good folks over there, but still, let’s have some fun, put this mouse to work, and see what she’s made of.

4 August 2015StorageBy David Ramsey

MyDigitalSSD 240GB SATA m.2 SSD Review

As computers become ever smaller, their storage devices shrink as well. The Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), also known as m.2, provides not only a smaller envelope for storage devices to fit in, it defines new PCI-E based interfaces as well as the legacy SATA 6G interface. MyDigitalSSD’s Super Boot Drive is equipped with Toshiba toggle NAND and a Phison PS3109 controller, and is Benchmark Review’s test subject for today.

20 July 2015PeripheralsBy David Ramsey

Tesoro Excalibur Spectrum Keyboard Review

Many enthusiasts probably haven’t heard of Tesoro Technology, which is perhaps understandable, since the company is so secretive their web page doesn’t even have an “About Us” section. Apparently based in Milpitas, California, Tesoro started out making mechanical keyboards a few years ago and has since branched out into mice and headsets, all aimed at gamers. Benchmark Reviews has just received their latest product, the RGB-illuminated and programmable Excalibur Spectrum mechanical gaming keyboard, so let’s take a look at it!

13 July 201516 July 2015CoolingBy Julian Duque

NZXT Kraken X61 CPU Cooler Review

Aside from the inclusion of a variable speed pump, the NZXT Kraken X61 improves from it’s predecessor by including a massive 280 mm radiator with a desner fin array which accounts for 36% more surface area. NZXT has also given the Kraken X61 extended tubing to ensure compatibility with all installation environments. Included with the Kraken X61 are two FX140 V2 PWM fan which according to NZXT are more powerful, quite, and durable than the inclusions of it’s predecessor. Most importantly, the Kraken X61 has a 6 year warranty, which just goes to prove how confident NZXT is of the Kraken line.

13 July 201513 July 2015CasesBy David Shields

Thermaltake Suppressor F51 Case Review

Thermaltake has been somewhat under the radar in the custom PC world for a while now, mainly due to a string of underwhelming products. However, with the release of the Core series they’re starting to make a comeback, and their newest product is their first silent chassis design, the Thermaltake Suppressor F51 E-ATX Mid-Tower Chassis

6 July 2015PeripheralsBy Joe Gulczinski

Azio MGK1 Mechanical Keyboard Review

Over the last 15 years Azio has made quality peripherals focusing on the aspects of convenience, entertainment, and accessibility. One of their latest foray in the market is the Azio MGK1 mechanical keyboard, featuring an alternative Kailh Switch set contrasted to the more commonly known Cherry MX switches. What really sets this keyboard apart from the rest is its rock-solid durability, the exquisite gun-metal finish, and a streamlined approach to functionality. Before the detailed breakdown of this “Elegantly Fierce” beauty of a keyboard, check out the rather unique feature set.