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Posts Tagged ‘power’

Antec today rolled out three new power supply models as part of its new High Current M series, a mid-range wattage class of hybrid modular PSUs with quiet cooling at affordable prices. The new series is an extension of the High Current Gamer PSU line released in late 2010, but feature modular cables and don’t scale as high in wattage options.

The original HGC line was available in 400W, 520W, 620W, 750W, and 900W models. Antec’s hybrid model refresh is available in 400W, 520W, and 620W models, each of which is 80 Plus Bronze certified and equipped with a 135mm … [Read More...]

Whether you just built or bought a new PC, it pays to optimize your setup from the start

Nothing holds more promise than a brand-new PC. The hardware is fresh and full of potential, the OS is clean and clutter-free, and you have nothing but pure, unadulterated storage space awaiting your precious data. It’s an exciting time, indeed. But before you start dumping old files onto your new rig willy-nilly, and downloading every shiny bauble of an app that catches your eye, take some time to consider a more measured approach to moving in. After all, you only have this … [Read More...]

A solid all-rounder from a newcomer to the field

It seems like these days it’s just not enough to master the Case-Heatsink-Power supply trifecta of PC parts. In the past couple years we’ve seen Corsair, Cooler Master, and now Thermaltake diversifying their hardware portfolios with gaming mice, keyboards, and headsets. The Thermaltake Shock One is the flagship of the new Tt eSports line of gaming headsets, and we got a chance to take it for a spin.

The Shock One is, first and foremost, a well-built headset. None of the materials—from the plastic mesh on the earcups to the cushy … [Read More...]

We set out to build a Sandy Bridge box that takes up little space in our entertainment center and fulfills all our streaming needs

Back in the August 2010 issue of Maximum PC I built a 3D HTPC that I was pretty damned happy with, but the times have changed. The CableCard quad tuner that was featured prominently in that machine is no longer needed, as I have joined the ranks of the Cable Cutter Movement™. So without the need for a CableCard, I wondered if I could build a rig with all the same capabilities but make it much, … [Read More...]

The Asus GTX 590 takes on the AMD Radeon HD 6990 in a battle of the dual GPU cards. Win, lose or dead heat? We put them to the test.

Hot on the heels of AMD’s Radeon HD 6990 dual-GPU monster, Nvidia is putting the pedal to the metal with its own dual GPU video card. The GTX 590 implements a pair of full GF110 CPUs, each with its own 1.5GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory, all 1,024 shader units and a custom cooler. There are, however, some compromises. The core clocks are set to 607MHz—substantially down from the 772MHz of … [Read More...]

There are many ways to shut down and restart your computer: Power-Off, Reboot-Button, Hibernate and Sleep. But which does what and which should you use when ?

The answer depends mostly on you. Are you into saving energy or boot-up time? How often do you leave your computer and for how long ? There are three main shut down options available in your Windows: Shut-Down, Sleep and Hibernate. There is also a fourth one called; Hybrid Sleep, which is a combination of the two.

Let’s explore the topic.

Environmental friendly

If your concern is to save energy, and you don’t … [Read More...]

A new generation of GPUs from Nvidia and AMD has hit the streets. Both camps are offering incredible performance and the widest array of features ever before seen in graphics cards. But, inevitably, each side brings its own unique strengths and weaknesses. What better way to determine the performance champ than by letting this season’s new crop of cards duke it out in the various price categories?

On one side is AMD, the self-proclaimed master of efficiency, looking to hold onto the glory it grabbed when it shipped the original Radeon HD 5870—a surprise contender that knocked former champ Nvidia … [Read More...]

If you live in an area that has a lot of blackouts, brownouts, and spikes in your electricity, it’s important to have a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply)  to protect your investment. Here’s how your APC UPS can shut down your PC gracefully.

A UPS isn’t just for IT infrastructures and should be part of your desktop PC and home network protection strategy—especially if you have a home media server. In a power outage, it provides emergency power via battery, allows you to safely save your data, and power down your machine properly.

Photo by Aaron Landry

This article was … [Read More...]

One pet-peeve I’ve found with Vista & Windows 7 is that hibernation feature tends to disappear… usually due to a disk cleanup.  Essentially, when the hibernation save file is deleted, Vista removes the hibernation ability. Luckily, turning it back on is very easy. Click the “Start” button, and type cmd… then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter to open in administrator mode. You can also right-click the item “Command Prompt” in the menu and choose Run as Administrator.  

From the command prompt, type in the following command:

powercfg /hibernate on

  You may have to restart your computer before it will take effect, however I’ve … [Read More...]

Hexa-core system has its way with our benchmarks

When we introduced our new system benchmarks last month, we thought it might be at least six months before review machines began stomping the holy crap out of them. Unfortunately for us, Digital Storm couldn’t wait to pile it on. The company has unleashed a rig so damned powerful that we’re wondering if our new benchmarks and zero-point system aren’t already obsolete.

But what would you expect of a rig named HailStorm Black Ops Edition that’s equipped with Intel’s new hexa-core Core i7-980X CPU? The Core i7-980X normally clocks in at 3.33GHz, … [Read More...]