Tag Archives: Review

In September 2010, KitGuru reviewed the BitFenix Colossus case and while it showed promise, we didn't think it was totally ready for prime time release. Today we are looking at their Survivor case, a more modest design which we are sure will appeal to a much wider audience. The mid …

KitGuru staff often get asked which cooler makes the best partner for their overclocked system. My personal choices normally shift between the Thermaltake Frio and the Noctua NH D14, depending on the budget. Recently we have received many emails asking if we could give the Cooler Master V8 the ‘KitGuru …

Antec are renowned among enthusiast circles for creating some of the finest computer cases and power supplies on the market. Like others in todays climate they are expanding into new territories and have turned their attention to speakers. This isn't a half hearted attempt however, with a new subsidiary entitled …

AMD's new HD6970 range has impressed KitGuru, delivering stunning gaming performance at a very respectable price point. While nVidia certainly have the performance advantage right now with their GTX580, we really do love to game across three screens without having to purchase another graphics card. Today we are looking at …

The high end sector only drives a small portion of income for nVidia and AMD, however it is important to be seen as dominant in this sector as public perception and confidence can drive sales further down the range. The Asus GTX580 Direct CU II is a highly modified play …

Today we are looking at a rather special card from MSI, the R6870 HAWK Edition with the new Twin Frozr III Cooler. With a 8+2 Phase PWM design and a dual fan speed profile switch connected to a new propeller blade design we have high hopes that this will be …

With Sandy Bridge in a state of hiatus for the next couple of months, a specific sector of our audience may decide to opt for the previous-generation platform which is now thoroughly tried and tested.  These people are more likely to be building a media system which doesn’t require all …

We reviewed an impressive XDNA system from YOYOTech a few months back which impressed us with a tasty overclock and CPU water cooling ‘out of the box'.  Sadly, this was priced for those people with deeper pockets, so we were very excited when YOYOTech offered us one of their latest …

When KitGuru reviewed Sapphire's HD5770 Flex Edition last year, it walked away with our top award. It was not only an amazing productivity board, but in a CrossfireX configuration it was capable of reasonable frame rates across three screens. Today we are looking at the new Sapphire HD6870 Flex Edition, …

AMD's HD6970 has been a strong seller since it was released on December 15th 2010. The combination of class leading performance and competitive price point has served AMD's partners well. Today we are looking at the new PowerColor HD6970 PCS+ which receives a high level of TLC, with enhanced clock …

Kitguru readers have great taste in hardware, of that there is no question. Many of you will already have a high performance laptop, probably for gaming duties. Those of you who have tried to use a high performance machine on their lap will generally agree that it can get really …

Alienware are an iconic system builder. For years they have been building radical, futuristically styled machines which have featured in many high profile TV shows and movies. Several years ago Dell took over the brand, incorporating them as their high end, customised system builds. Today we are looking at the …

Sapphire have a well earned reputation as one of AMD's finest partners. Their Vapor X and Toxic Edition cards command a small price premium while offering significant advantages in all key areas. Today we are looking at the as yet unreleased HD6870 Toxic Edition with custom Vapor-X cooler and ‘out …

Enermax are well known for producing some of the best quality power supplies on the market and have recently produced a range of flashy LED fans which Zardon tested a few months back. But they also produce a range of PC cases, one of which they have sent us to …

Today we are going to be looking at a hybrid graphics/network card, featuring an amalgamation of technology from AMD and Bigfoot Networks. This card from VisionTek combines a 1GB HD5770 with a KillerNic 2100 to offer lower ping times with decent mainstream gaming performance. Focusing on high end graphics solutions …

KitGuru has reviewed many NAS systems in the last year and we have covered most of the previous range from Synology. Today we are looking at the new flagship product aimed at the small and medium sized business market. With support for up to 15 drives via additional Synology DX510 …

First there was the promise, that Fusion was the future. Then, at CES, AMD revealed the combination of CPU and GPU that it calls an APU. Today, Kitguru has in its lab  the world's first AMD Fusion Platform prototype from MSI, exclusively for our reader's delight. It is a model/concept …

MSI have a wide range of laptops for the enthusiast user and today we are looking at the rather sexy multimedia based CX623, complete with Core i5 460m, LED screen and nVidia 310M. In a perfect world, everyone would be equipped with a £3,000 laptop, but sadly in the real …

Even after the launch of Sandy Bridge from Intel, there are still a lot of users out there who will opt for an AMD based system so it is our duty, as Gurus of Kit, to review some of the latest and greatest AMD based motherboards. Today we are going …

We've recently reviewed a number of mid-range cases that fall in the just over £100 mark from the likes of Corsair and Lian Li which impressed us greatly.  So when we were offered a similarly-priced case from a lesser known manufacturer, we jumped at the chance so we could see …

With the release of the stunning new Sandybridge platform from Intel, memory manufacturers are releasing kits designed specifically to maximise system performance. Today we look at a stunning new 4GB kit from GSKILL which operates at 2133mhz while maintaining the tightest possible timings. In the past, getting memory close to …

ASRock are stepping up their game. It has taken a lot of time persuading the enthusiast audience, but in the last year we have seen the company develop and progress, especially with their motherboard designs. Today we are looking at the ASRock P67 Fatal1ty Professional motherboard, which is targeted at …

We recently looked at one of Asus' high end M4A90GTD Pro/USB3 motherboards that impressed us with its extensive feature set and strong performance.  The only drawback of this board was the high price which put it out into the ‘deeper wallet' category.  So we were excited when Asus offered us …

There is no doubting that 2010 was a turning point for Arctic Cooling, they focused on enhancing their portfolio and released a steady flow of products throughout the year. KitGuru reviewed a wide cross section of their product catalogue and were often impressed with the focus on quality products at …

The HD6850 has been a strong seller for AMD since it was released last year, combining great gaming performance at a very competitive price point. Today we are looking at the new HIS HD 6850 which is supplied in a pre overclocked state and features a high performance ‘Ice Q …

Here at KitGuru we get excited every time a plain brown box arrives in our offices as we know that there is likely to be some exciting new tech within.  In this case, the tech isn't new to the market but that doesn't mean the contents of the box are …

The AMD HD5450 has proven to be a popular card with the enthusiast HTPC audience, due to the low pricing and media acceleration capabilities. This particular series has also been adopted by the business audience who value a low cost strategy with support for multiple monitors. The HIS HD5450 Silence …

Every performance enthusiast system needs high levels of cooling. An unfortunate side effect is that many fans on the market today can generate excessive noise. There is nothing you will regret more than buying a handful of cheap fans online without research. Unless you want to end up with a …

There are a plethora of laptops aimed at the business user, many of which fall into the ‘grey, boring and clunky category'. Dell are trying to shake this market up by offering a rather sexy alternative which stands out in a crowded market. No longer will a sharp dressed executive …

There are many people out there who use a laptop as their main machine, both on the move and at home.  While a laptop is convenient when you're on the go, at home there is room for a large screen or multiple screens for an extended desktop.  Most laptops support …