The PC Frank Lloyd Wright would have used

titleJeffrey Stephenson AKA: slipperyskip is no stranger to getting attention for his PC mods. A quick glance at his website shows 12 modding contest wins, appearances at 11 different conferences, 14 different write-ups on endgadget and gizmodo, 13 different magazine write-up's, and even an appearance on television. I don't think there are many more people in the modding community that can say they have done half as much! The most impressive thing is that his modding style is completely different than what anyone else is doing. With each of his builds he experiments with different materials to create PC's that would easily blend right in to a home 40, 50, 60 or more years ago. His latest build is called Usonian and for anyone that is a fan of architecture you will have a good idea of what he had in mind.

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PLAYSEAT Office - Elite

titleYou've built yourself a custom PC sparing no expense, you have two or three monitors setup on your desk, but yet something doesn’t feel right. That office chair you picked up just isn’t cutting it when compared to the rest of your setup. Up until now there just hasn’t been a chair that fits the bill and can truly be called 'epic'. A few years ago I spotted a chair that met those standards at PLAYSEAT’s booth and I wasted no time trying to get one in to check out. This November, after far too long in development, they offered that chair up for sale on their website. This has to be one of the coolest items we will cover all year, don't miss out!

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Arctic Cooling Arctic NC

frontRecently we reviewed a few items from Arctic Cooling that help gamers stay cool under pressure. A gamer won't get the opportunity though if their rig can't do the same. You don't have to have a top-of-the-line gaming laptop to worry about its temps; the nature of all that hardware in such a little space is cause enough to create concerns. Arctic Cooling has also has a solution for your mobile computing companion, and today we sit down with the notebook cooler to put it to the gamer's test.

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Razer Ironclad

titleTo some a mousepad is just a mousepad, to others (like me) the subtle differences between every pad make all of the difference. When trying to keep your gaming environment consistent when traveling or at LAN parties, that’s where companies like Razer come in. Their Destructor is to this day one of my favorite pads, both my wife and I use them and I keep one packed away with my gaming laptop for traveling. Razer introduced their Ironclad as a rock-solid hard mouse pad for someone looking for a pad that should last through World War 3 for a little post-apocalyptic gaming in between the waves of zombies.

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Arctic Cooling Breeze Pro & Arctic USB Hub

frontAny computer enthusiast will tell you the two things you can never have enough of: USB ports and cooling. Having finally moved into an office that will hopefully survive the summer with me, I was ready to make my desktop as practicle as it could be comfortable. A combination of great timing, psychic abilities, and a few hundred emails to Artic Cooling resulted in them sending us a care package to help.

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Corsair H50 CPU Cooler

titleA few years ago if I told you that the Ram manufacture Corsair was going to make a name for themselves in the cooling market you might have laughed me out of the room. A few short years later they have not only made a name for themselves in cooling, but in audio, power supplies, ssd’s, and cases. Looking back, the reason they have been so successful is probably because they can look at a problem  and break it down to what the enthusiast really needs and then focus on making it the best product in that nitch. Today, we are going to take a look at the H50 their first foray into the cooling market to see if it is still the top performer that has made it so popular over the last two years.

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SteelSeries Shift

frontThe original Zboard by Ideazon was, for better or for worse, the first gaming keyboard I ever owned. Because of this, it will always hold a special, biased place in my heart. About two years later, I had become more engrossed in the world of PC gaming, and found myself a pretty big fan of SteelSeries, who built quality equipment for professional gamers, a field which I'm a huge proponent of. I think I literally squealed in joy when I read the press release stating that SS was going to be redesigning the Zboard (which is why my fiancée’s parents didn't invite me to Easter dinner this year). Today we look at the Shift to see if it lives up to the standard SteelSeries has set.

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Razer Naga Molten Special Edition

titleWhen Razer introduced their MMO-focused Naga, the telephone-reminiscent side buttons were the butt of a few jokes, yet some hardcore MMO fans saw the potential. At CES last year we had a chance to get a hands on with the Naga and I was pleasantly surprised. When Razer introduced a special edition of the Naga with the Razer logo busting out of glowing molten hot lava I had to finally get one here at the office to take a look at. Will it be hot like the design implies? Or will it fizzle out like some of the other MMO mice.

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Cooler Master Storm Spawn

frontGaming mice are quickly approaching the point in which a unique look is in itself a cliché. Visual appeal was once a new, exciting feature that attracted the attention of the demanding gaming crowd. It has become so standard today that sometimes functionality is sacrificed for a novelty design. The Spawn was on display for us this year at CES, a unique device that did, indeed, catch our eye. Does it fall victim to vanity, or prove its value in one of the harshest gaming genres?

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Sapphire HD5850 Xtreme

titleWhen a new series of video cards is launched it’s easy to get distracted by the new flashy cards and their amazing performance. The problem is when it comes to mid-range and lower cards sometimes last generations cards perform as well or better at similar price points. This can mean a simple decision on a video card for a budget build could have tens or hundreds of options to choose from. To give you another option Sapphire has brought back their HD5800 series cards with new Xtreme Edition series. They introduced today both the HD5830 and HD5850, of which we will be taking a look at the HD5850. Let’s take a look at what is different with this reintroduction and how it affects the budget gamer.

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Razer Ferox

titleWhen you’re travailing you are normally limited to headphones or the built in speakers on your laptop or mp3 player. It’s really no surprise that the audio quality on those speakers isn’t the best. A good pair of headphones can sound great but you may find them to be a little more uncomfortable after long use and you are limited to only one person listing at once. We have a seen a few different variations of portable speakers but typically audio quality still leaves a little to be desired. When Razer introduced their Ferox portable speakers I was a little hesitant, but excited to see what they could do in the market. Let’s bust them out and see how they perform.

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Sapphire Edge-HD Mini PC

titleWhen you think of Sapphire you think of video cards and more recently motherboards. Along with expanding into the motherboard market, today, Sapphire introduced its newest product the Edge-HD Mini PC. With a dual core Intel Atom D510 and a Nvidia ION 2 GPU the Edge HD could be a perfect HTPC or PC for light use. The Edge HD gets its name from its thin size; everything is packed in a form factor that is smaller than the average home router. Considering its contents, the size is very impressive!

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Gigabyte G-1 Assassin Gaming Motherboard

titleI was there… I heard the loud noises and saw the grenades being thrown. My partner and I went to war and back that night. Some of the things we saw that night can and will never be un-seen. The night that Gigabyte invited us out for the launch of their new military themed gaming motherboards will be a night that will not be forgotten. I may be shell shocked from that night but we must go on. Today I have Gigabytes flagship G-1 Assassin here to review. With every part of the board designed specifically for the gamer I am very excited to see how it performs. Will there be a g-1 in your next build? Let’s find out

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Cooler Master Storm Enforcer

titleOne of the cases that Cooler Master showed off this year at CES was its upcoming Storm Enforcer Mid-Tower case. A while back we received a sample and today we finally are posting our experience with their newest addition to the Storm gaming lineup (a few days late). With a tank like appearance it’s easy to figure out where they came up with the name, but will it have what it takes to stand up against todays cases? Let’s find out.

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Sapphire FleX HD 6950 2Gb

titleThe proverbial ink has hardly dried on our review of Sapphires HD6870 Flex and we are already introducing another member of the Flex family. That’s because Sapphire is hoping to give everyone the option to go Flex no matter the budget or performance requirements. This also happens to be the first HD6950 to come through our office, finally giving us a chance to check out the performance of AMD’s third in command. Talk about killing two birds with one stone, let’s take a look at the Sapphire FleX HD 6950 2Gb.

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OtterBox Commuter Series case for HTC DROID Incredible

titleVerizon and other carriers may subsidize your initial phone purchase but you may not know that your fancy new DROID Incredible would cost you $529.99 to replace at retail price. That is a great reason to invest in a quality case to protect your new toy phone. Notice the key word, invest. A case can be far more than a way to decorate or distinguish your phone. OtterBox, a company we have seen before a few times, is known for their ultra-durable cases. When you’re talking about protecting a $500+ portable computer you want the best right? We are going to take a look at their Commuter Series case for the Incredible, let’s jump in.

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Nvidia GTX 550 Ti

titleIt seems like it was only a few weeks ago I was talking about Nvidia’s latest card the GTX560 Ti. Now here we are launching our review of the GTX550 Ti, the little brother to the GTX560 Ti. The GTX550 Ti fills the gap between the GTS 450 and the GTX 460, with its eye directly on AMD’s popular HD5770. With aggressive performance and pricing, Nvidia hopes to capture the budget market playing the same game AMD plays. How will it hold up against the aging HD5770, let’s take a look.

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Sapphire HD6870 Flex

titleWhen you are looking for video cards there are so many things to consider it can be very over whelming. Even after you have picked the model you are going to go with, what brand do you pick? Overclocked? Something has to stand out from the crowd or you’re more likely just going to pick the cheapest card available and go on with life. Sapphire has a product line that hopes to do just that. The Flex edition cards are designed to be more functional than a standard card and depending on the situation they can be a MUCH better deal. Today I am going to take a look at their HD6870 Flex edition and explain why you should consider a Flex card next time you are on the market.

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Seidio Innocase II Surface combo for the HTC Incredible

titleWith today’s smartphones costing up to $600 bucks to replace without insurance it’s amazing that we all just throw them around without a worry in the world. It doesn’t help that manufactures are using large glass panels on the full touch smart phones making them even more susceptible to breakage. That’s where company’s like Seidio come in. Seidio manufactures cases and accessories for popular phones. Today I have the chance to put their Innocase II Surface Combo to the test on the HTC Incredible.

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Seagate GoFlex Product Line

titleI have always been a big fan of Seagate’s FreeAgent Go lineup for some time. With only USB 2.0 drives being available up until the past year they were limited in speed by an aging interface. USB 3.0 came out but was only available to people who have 3.0 integrated on their motherboards. Seagate recognized this and designed a product lineup that is flexible enough to be used with any interface without having to buy different drives. Their GoFlex product line is an entire collection of drives, cables, and accessories that can be a little overwhelming. Today I am going to sort through it all and see if I can’t help break it all down. Let’s jump in!

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