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It's easy to build a powerful desktop if you take a big, beefy enclosure like SilverStone's FT-02 or the Thermaltake Level 10 GT and just fill it with the highest performance parts on the market, overclock them, and call it a day—and certainly we've seen our share of those. Taking all of that raw performance and shrinking it into a MicroATX case can be a little more difficult, though, especially when you're dissipating a cumulative TDP of at least 730 watts. Yet when we saw that AVADirect had produced another compact but incredibly high performance gaming desktop, we had to take a look. Gulftown may be on its way to bed soon with the advent of Sandy Bridge-E, but let's see if we can't give it one last hurrah in the process.
While this custom build isn't super compact, it's certainly a fair sight smaller than many of the gaming systems we've reviewed. It sure doesn't feel smaller when you carry it, though, and that may have something to do with the configuration.
<p><span style="font-size: small;">If you've been following along for a while, it should be pretty clear that around here, we're fans of doing a little computing. Awkward turns of phrase notwithstanding, we thought we'd seen the smallest HP had to offer when we tackled the Z210 SFF desktop not too long ago. But we were wrong, and today we present you with the smallest desktop computer in HP's enterprise lineup. Wearing its power supply on the outside, meet the HP Compaq 8200 Elite Ultra-Slim.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> Get a load of that. Admittedly consumer desktops (and nettops) can get just a bit smaller, but the HP Compaq 8200 Elite Ultra-Slim is still pretty impressively diminutive. Once you get this small it's very hard to include any kind of real graphics hardware, so even the entry level Quadro found in the Z210 is absent here, but other than that you'll see it's a surprisingly fully-featured little computer.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">HP offers several pre-configured variants of the 8200 Elite Ultra-Slim, and they shipped us the top XZ788UT model. They also have custom-build options available, with a much larger selection of parts on tap.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> You can immediately tell from the specs that the 8200 Elite Ultra-Slim is the kind of system designed more for mass deployment than any kind of serious, high performance computing. HP includes an MXM slot and Mini-PCIe slot inside the chassis for expansion, and for those that really want some for of discrete graphics a $61 upgrade to an AMD Radeon HD 5450 is available. With 80 Stream Processors, that's not a major upgrade from Intels HD 2000; it's a little dated but it's there if you need it. There's also no USB 3.0 support, but at least HP includes DisplayPort connectivity.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> Moving to the CPU, the Intel Core i5-2500S is no slouch. Rated for a TDP of 65 watts instead of 95, it still manages to boast the same impressive top turbo core speed as its non-S-series counterpart. Other options range from basic Pentium CPUs all the way up to the i7-2600S. HP backs the CPU up with two SO-DIMM slots (and no ECC support), one of which is occupied in our review unit by a 4GB DDR3-1333 DIMM.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> Keeping up with the "notebook in a desktop shell" motif is the 2.5" Western Digital Scorpio Black 7200-RPM mechanical hard drive and a slimline DVD+/-RW drive. (Note that SSDs are available in the custom configurator if desired.) HP also includes integrated wireless in the form of the Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 wireless chipset, which supports 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity. The 87% efficient PSU is an external power brick rated for 135 watts, more than enough to support this configuration.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> None of the specs are going to set the world on fire, but being a business class system there are a few other extras we need to discuss. The major selling point for systems such as this is the warranty and support. The HP Compaq Elite 8200 comes standard with a 3-year onsite warranty, and in our experience business class systems are built and supported better than consumer offerings. Remember also that while HP is talking about selling off their consumer PC division, they want to keep the (more lucrative) business and enterprise lines.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/4867/hp-compaq-8200-elite-ultraslim-the-littlest-desktop">Read more...</a><br />
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<p><span style="font-size: small;">We've been wanting to get Lian Li enclosures in house for review for a while now, and we're pleased to report we finally have a contender on hand (with more on the way!) in the form of the PC-V353. Lian Li touts this case as having been designed to cool through use of extensive ventilation instead of fans, but surprisingly they don't advertise what may be one of its more interesting aspects: the enclosure is comprised almost entirely of aluminum and is likely to feel surprisingly light. Can an aluminum, well-ventilated enclosure take the place of steel and fans ?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">We're trying to get more Micro-ATX/Mini-ITX enclosures in for review, so when the Lian Li rep contacted me about reviewing their products and asked me what I was looking for, I had a pretty specific answer in mind: something silent and/or something small. (Well, I had a third answer, too: "...or pretty much anything; I've been dying to get some Lian Li kit in.") Her answer came in the form of the PC-V353: a Micro-ATX enclosure designed to minimize the amount of fan noise by simply not having fans, instead relying on a lot of ventilation to get the job done.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">Like many smaller cases, the PC-V353 is going to be fairly limited in the types of peripherals it can hold. While some are more bizarrely spacious than others (SilverStone's Temjin TJ08-E comes to mind) these are generally cases that require some compromise; a tower-style cooler seems like a bad idea in general for the PC-V353, especially when you note that the area above the I/O cluster is one of the few places Lian Li didn't ventilate the chassis. Let's take a closer look and see how this small box performs.</span></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/4866/lian-lis-pcv353-lighter-than-air"><span style="font-size: small;">Read more...</span></a></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">For years now Dell has been one of the few companies that consistently offers a range of displays using IPS panels for desktop displays instead of only the more affordable TN panels. Now with the availability of e-IPS panels, Dell has been able to offer even more models and lower the price all the way down to $319 for a 23” 1080p display.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"> The U2311H uses a very similar base to what Dell has been using for years that lets the monitor simply clip in, and allows for rotation to be used as a portrait display as well. The left side of the display has a pair of USB 2.0 ports, to go with the pair located on the bottom of the display. Also on the bottom of the display are DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA inputs, as well as the power input. Located on the front of the display on the right side are the menu control buttons that are unlabeled and nicely disappear into the bezel. The U2311H can adjust in height vertically and has both tilt and swivel adjustments as well, which should make it able to fit into most spaces. It might not be flashy but it gets the job done.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;">With all the above features, you’ll note that a few items are missing. There’s no HDMI port, making this less desirable as an all-in-one display for use with PCs as well as game consoles. There are also no speakers, though given the quality of most LCD speakers we don’t feel like we’re really missing out. In a similar vein, there’s no audio out, so if you were to use DisplayPort for carrying audio there’s no way to get the audio from the display to an external source. There are perhaps minor omissions, but most of Dell’s higher-end LCDs include such features and they’re worth pointing out.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.anandtech.com/show/4880/dell-u2311h-affordable-eips" target="_blank">Read more...</a><br />
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This time we will discuss the cooling efficiency and level of generated noise of two completely different coolers available at about the same price.
Ever since I moved to a notebook as my main work computer I've become increasingly annoyed with the process of actually moving my notebook-as-a-desktop around. At my desk I've got DisplayPort, Ethernet, two USB, FireWire 800, speakers and power all plugged into a 15-inch MacBook Pro. What makes it frustrating isn't the first-world-problem of having to unplug seven cables, rather that it doesn't need to be seven cables - Apple could make the whole thing happen with just two.
Every Mac released in 2011 has at least one Thunderbolt port (the iMac has two), and Thunderbolt can deliver exactly what I'm looking for. Thunderbolt can carry two things: PCI Express and DisplayPort, the former for data and the latter obviously for video. Why would you want to carry PCIe and DP over a single cable? To address problems like the one above.
Pretty much all device expansion on modern day PCs happens via PCI Express. Several years ago it was hard to find PCIe sound cards or Ethernet controllers, but these days vanilla PCI slots are nearing extinction and PCIe is the de facto standard. Ethernet, USB and FireWire controllers all exist as single-lane PCIe devices. Put a bunch of them at the other end of a Thunderbolt cable and you no longer need to plug in a bunch of individual cables into your notebook when at your desk. Send DisplayPort over the same cable and you can actually move all of those ports onto your monitor, thereby using a single cable to carry everything but power to your display. And this is exactly what Apple has done with its new Thunderbolt Display. By mating its 27-inch LED Cinema Display with a bunch of integrated IO controllers, Apple is hoping to deliver a display that's more of a mobile docking station than just a passive way to display video.
It’s been barely a month since we posted our review of the new NZXT super-cooler – Havik 140. Today we are glad to introduce to you another candidate for this respectful title – a new product from Prolimatech.It’s been barely a month since we posted our review of the new NZXT super-cooler – Havik 140. Today we are glad to introduce to you another candidate for this respectful title – a new product from Prolimatech.
I'm off to IDF this week while Ryan and Brian cover Microsoft's BUILD conference, so expect lots of CPU and Windows 8 news in the coming days. Just before I left however Seagate sent me a review sample of its recently announced GoFlex Desk 4TB drive. Eager to find out if anything had changed since I reviewed last year's 3TB model I dove right into testing.
It’s been barely a month since we posted our review of the new NZXT super-cooler – Havik 140. Today we are glad to introduce to you another candidate for this respectful title – a new product from Prolimatech.
When we reviewed Antec's Sonata IV recently, we found it left a lot to be desired. Antec had updated their Sonata design, but barely, and the enclosure as a whole felt grossly behind the times. Apparently some of Antec's engineers agreed, because we have the brand new Solo II in house now and there's clearly been some serious retooling. But is the Solo II enough of a step forward, or does it still have some growing up to do?
Externally the Solo II doesn't look like a massive evolution of the previous generation of Solo cases (which Antec considers part of their Sonata family of enclosures). That's not really an issue: while the appearances of Antec's gaming enclosures may be the subject of some debate, the Sonata line has always been attractive and understated without looking particularly chintzy or cheap. But looks can be deceiving, and the inside of the Solo II looks less like a traditional enclosure and more like a laboratory where Antec's engineers have begun experimenting with new (and old) approaches to case design.
What isn't mentioned in the spec sheet is that Antec has also included soundproofing on the side panels, soundproofing that would've helped the Sonata IV perform better acoustically. There are thin sheets of polycarbonate attached to the insides of the top and side panels in a way that doesn't add heft or thickness but can introduce a notable improvement in noise.