PC Cases
Written by Lersar Wednesday, 10 March 2010 00:00
Anyone who has had the pleasure of hauling a full tower loaded with expensive hardware to and from LAN parties will appreciate NZXT's approach to their aluminum chassis line and it's latest addition The Panzerbox. The Panzerbox is designed to be light-weight, portable, and support much of the enthusiast hardware popular among gamers and LAN goers. After returning home from a LAN only this past weekend, heavy steel mid-tower in hand, I was anxious to try this chassis out for size, literally.
Written by Lersar Monday, 01 March 2010 00:00
The new crafted chassis from NZXT makes several claims to fame, including being the self-proclaimed 'Airflow King'. If you've read some of my past reviews on cases, you know that cooling options is a criteria that I hold in very high regard, so naturally I was excited to get my hands on the Tempest. Today I sit down with the case, and see if it truly does: "realize the dreams of gamers worldwide."
Written by Lersar Wednesday, 24 February 2010 00:00
Conformity in the world of technology is rare these days, each company aspiring to create their own unique solution to suit our computing needs. The majority of the time, its' a change that's as drastic as it is risky, and only appeals to a certain demographic. But every now and then, a revolution comes along that makes everyone stop and think, "Why isn't this the standard?" Silverstone has discovered such a design, exemplified in their new Raven 2 chassis, and has sent us a sample to see for ourselves.
Written by Lersar Thursday, 18 February 2010 00:00
Lancool is a child company of Lian Li, popular for their aluminum builds, out of Taiwan devoted to improving the experience of the LAN gamer, whether it be through convenience, style, or performance. Being a review site with such focus on LAN parties as we are, naturally we we're excited to check out what it was that set these mid-towers apart, and see if it held up to our own expectations. Lancool has sent us one of their latest models, the K56, for just that opportunity.
A thanks to http://www.hampton-technologies.com/ for shipping this case out to us
Written by Lersar Wednesday, 06 January 2010 00:00
"Limited edition" is not a term unheard of in the gaming industry. Normally it's a term branded about in the realm of game consoles not PCs. Recently Cooler Master has been spreading exclusives to PC gaming. Do you recall the CM 690 NVIDIA edition? It was a full tower featuring the company's color scheme and logo. The bar has only been raised since then and Cooler Master has gone above and beyond with the new AMD edition of the HAF 932, they've even sent us a sample to check out for ourselves.
Written by Lersar Monday, 04 January 2010 00:00
A case is the most essential piece of hardware for any computer, and holds a lot of potential to affect its owner's experience: convenience, cooling, efficiency, and appearance to name a few. In the gaming industry, these aspects are all the more important. The market is currently flooded with makes and models, each trying to satisfy every area or specialize enough in one to to become unique. In-Win's Maelstrom case is one of the former's leading contenders, and they've sent us a sample to find out why.
Written by garfi3ld Wednesday, 02 December 2009 06:09
Thermaltake's element series has grown from just a few cases to an entire line with cases of all sizes and shapes. I recently had a chance to look at the Element T. Even though it had its strengths, I did have a list of complaints and issues. That brings us to the Element G; another mid tower design from the Element line. Let's take a look.
Written by garfi3ld Monday, 23 November 2009 04:59
A while back I took a look at a case from LanCool called the K58. LanCool is a Lian Li company that gives you Lian Li quality on a budget. Today I have the chance to take a look at Lian Li’s new PC-B70 case. This is my first experience with an all aluminum case; I’m excited to take a closer look.
Written by Lersar Sunday, 01 November 2009 00:00
PC gaming is unarguably making a rise in the gaming industry. It can be daunting, even for a veteran, with the endless slew of products and options available on the marker. At times, it can be hard to keep up with what you need and what you don't, and there have been plenty out there willing to take advantage of that confusion. Luckily, there are companies out there who refuse to, who remain committed to giving the PC gamer exactly what they want and need. Antec is such a company, and they've sent us their most affordable gaming mid-tower yet, the Antec Two Hundred, to prove it.
Written by garfi3ld Thursday, 24 September 2009 03:05
If you look up the definiton of gladiator on Dictionary.com, you'll get three results, one of which is interestingly accurate for a gaming chassis: "a person ...armed with a sword or other weapon and compelled to fight to the death in a public arena against another person or a wild animal, for the entertainment of the spectators." Is a case not a gamer's sword, fighting against others for our entertainment? Cooler Master has sent their warrior, the Gladiator 600, for us to review, and see how it stacks up as the thrid, and most simplistic definition: prizefighter.
Written by garfi3ld Friday, 21 August 2009 05:09
![IMG_5549 [lr] [lrsm]](http://lanoc.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/IMG_5549-lr-lrsm.JPG "IMG_5549 [lr] [lrsm]")
Earlier this year Thermaltake introduced their Element series of cases with the Element S. The Element S is a stylish case with a distinctive look without lots of lights and other distractions. Today I will be taking a closer look at the Element T, an entry level gaming case Thermaltake released to complement the Element S. We will find out if its right for your next budget build.
Written by garfi3ld Monday, 03 August 2009 06:14
![IMG_5388 [lr] [lrsm]](http://lanoc.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/IMG_5388-lr-lrsm1.JPG "IMG_5388 [lr] [lrsm]")
While at CES this past year I had the chance to tour the Lian-Li booth and check out many unique and stylish cases. Along side of the Lian-Li, Lancool their side company had a collection of their cases being shown off also. Today I have the chance to check out their Dragon Lord K58 case. Being my first experience with Lancool and Lian-Li I am excited to see their quality first hand. Considering the hype from others, I doubt that I will be disappointed.
Written by garfi3ld Thursday, 23 July 2009 07:05
![IMG_5339 [lr] [lrsm]](http://lanoc.org/reviews/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/IMG_5339-lr-lrsm.JPG "IMG_5339 [lr] [lrsm]")
Early this year Cooler Master introduced a new product line focusing on gamers. Their Storm line was introduces with their Sniper chassis at CES and has been on the market for some time. For the past 6 months I have been running the Cooler Master Storm Sniper case on my personal computer. Cooler Master realized that we haven't reviewed this chassis and shipped one out to me. Today I am going to check out the sniper and talk about a few things that stand out to me after living with it for some time. Not to give anything away but I liked it, click to read more!
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 02 June 2009 01:45
Antec has been slowly refining their case lineup one at a time. We haven't really seen a lot of completely new designs from them this year, this has a lot to do with the state of the economy. With the P180 series of cases Antec has always had a strong focus on the noise performance of their cases. Of course as we have learned in the past, quite can sometimes mean hot. In order to fix some of those issues they have released the P183. We are going to take a look at the changes along with the overall usability of the P183 as a gaming and HTPC chassis.
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 19 May 2009 18:38
Cooler Master introduced their line of gamer focused cases at the beginning of this year. I was lucky enough to win a computer that included their Storm Sniper case, I have been using it for a few months and have been very impressed with the small details. Today we have the pleasure of taking a closer look at Cooler Master Storm's newest chassis the Scout. The Scout is a mid tower with a focus on portability for gamers who need to transport their rig to LAN Partys and tournaments, in other words its right up our ally!
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 12 May 2009 05:01
Cooler Master has made their name producing PC cases for gamers that provide good cooling along with innovative styling. This past August Cooler Master introduced a new case called the HAF 932, HAF being an acronym for High Air Flow. If all of their cases have top of the line cooling, what is it they considered high air flow? With 4 fans adding up to 830mm's of fan along with a ton of mesh the HAF defiantly lived up to its name. Of course with it being a full sized case there was a demand for a mid tower version. Today we have the unique opportunity to look at what Cooler Master designed to fill that gap before you can even buy it in stores. Today we take a look at the HAF 922 and find out if it will live in the shadow of its big brother, or make a name for itself also.
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 05 May 2009 02:17
Packing up your entire rig to take it to a lan party is a pain in the butt. So much so in fact that at our lan parties we normally see 3 or 4 laptops show up. Of course with laptops you don't have the ability to run the same level of components in most cases. Because of this there has been a demand for small form factor systems that are powerful but easy to transport. The smaller cases also are ideal for HTPC use. In my case I have been looking for the perfect HTPC case for our living room without any luck. I decided to talk to Thermaltake about their LanBox series of cases to see if it would fit the bill.
Written by garfi3ld Tuesday, 28 April 2009 02:02
If you were to compare the PC case market to motorcycles In Win would be similar to Orange County Choppers. Each case they make is designed around a central theme. In the past we have seen cases designed after the B2 Bomber and race cars. Today I will be looking at the X-Fighter, I'm sure you can guess what the theme of this case is all about. I'm going to run the case through its paces to see if it would be a good fit for today's high end gaming PC's.
Written by garfi3ld Monday, 13 April 2009 05:01
Not every PC build needs to be a full size case with 15 fans. Sometimes you are just looking for a simple case that will keep your rig cool enough and most importantly keep the noise to a minimum. At CES this past January we had a chance to take a look at Cooler Master's upcoming silent rig the Sileo 500. The Sileo 500 is finally released and we have the chance to take a closer look at the case. The timing was perfect with the upcoming rebuild of my wifes computer, and considering the focus on keeping everything quite I hope it will balance out some of the noise my computer makes ;).
Written by garfi3ld Thursday, 26 March 2009 01:27
For the past two years, Antec's Nine Hundred has dominated the field at lan parties and in the hearts of gamers. The high airflow and slick looks made the case very popular. Two years later there are numerous competitors who have brought out products to tap into that same market. Recently, Antec brought out the Twelve Hundred with a similar design to the Nine Hundred but with some much-needed changes. They have decided to add some of those changes to the Nine Hundred along with a few new ideas. The new product is called the Nine Hundred Two, today we are going to take a closer look.
Page 1 of 2
