Here the first reviews roundup of today with Genius SP-HF2020 Hi-Fi Digital Wooden Speakers Review, Battle of the SATA 3.0 Controllers, and TP-LINK TL-WN822N USB Wireless N Adapter Review



Genius SP-HF2020 Hi-Fi Digital Wooden Speakers Review
ThinkComputers.org posted a review on the Genius SP-HF2020 Hi-Fi Digital Wooden Speakers

Okay, I’m not going to lie, when Bob asked me to review a set of Genius speakers I was quite skeptical. Let’s just be nice and say Genius doesn’t have the best reputation for producing/selling the best quality speakers. Hell, Genius isn’t that many letters away from ‘generic’ and the fact that Apple employees are also called ‘Genius’s’ (I HATE APPLE) gave these speakers a sour taste before I even saw the box. I did a bit of research on these speakers after seeing the un-boxing video a week or so ago on the ThinkComputers website and I was surprisingly impressed. The company’s website claims “Genius brings all serious listeners a new set of speakers, SP-HF2020, to experience magnificent sound.” Let’s see how accurate that statement is and if my first impression holds true.

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Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler Review
TweakTown posted a review on the Corsair Hydro Series H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Up until I had reviewed the Hydro Series H80, I saw these all-in-one coolers to be really niche, and simply trendy. I can't deny the clean looks of a water loop cooling a processor, but up till now, they just didn't have the capacity to handle some of the higher TDP processors without some form of modifications made to the units as they were shipped. Usually it involves possibly lapping the cold plate, figuring out a way to add washers for more head pressure, or swapping out the fans so that the mind numbing noise that is associated with these coolers doesn't drive you nuts while you are trying to game. Being spoiled early by Noctua, I got accustomed to having a near silent working environment, and even the slightest roar of a fan will make me look for another solution.

What you are about to see here in this review is something I wasn't too sure I would be able to show you at this point in the all-in-one cooling segments development. That is the simple fact where finally glitz and glamour are add-ons to a cooler that is more than capable of handling even the hottest of processors! - Where it used to be the fact that the unit has fan controls, or LED lighting, or even a way to read system information via your desktop, these were all things that used to sell coolers that while performing well, cost too much to really recommend them, especially if you were to compare them to a custom built water loop. Today I am pleased to show you Corsair's latest submission to our testing, the Hydro Series H100.

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Battle of the SATA 3.0 Controllers
Techgage posted their look at the performance of three current SATA 3.0 controllers, from AMD, Intel and Marvell.

With newer SSDs now coming well within 10% of maxing out a SATA 3.0 port, it's important to make sure that your motherboard is properly equipped to handle such drives if planning to buy one. In our testing, while AMD's and Intel's solutions offered superb performance, Marvell's leaved a bit (or a lot) to be desired.

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NZXT Sentry Mix Fan Controller Review
OCC has published a review on the NZXT Sentry Mix Fan Controller

Functionally, the Sentry Mix is, well, functional. It does what it's supposed to and I have no complaints about it. Despite their structural differences, all the sliders move within the same physical range and provide the same amount of adjustment. The LED color selection button is a tad more recessed than is necessary, and were it raised just a little out from the faceplate, it would be much more comfortable. Just as with the Sentry Mesh, the Sentry Mix allows amps to course through its veins at no less than 4.8V. So, no matter what, the fans are spinning and keeping things from going "pop" in the night. Remembering which fan is controlled by which pot is easy since the cables and sliders are numerically labeled.

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TP-LINK TL-WN822N USB Wireless N Adapter Review
DreamWare Computers takes a look at the TP-LINK TL-WN822N USB Wireless N Adapter

A small and compact wireless USB dongle may seem like it'll save you a lot of space, but unless you absolutely need something that is small, then bigger is still better. A bigger wireless dongle means that it has a bigger antenna - or even two antennas in the case of the one I have here today. The TP-LINK TL-WN822N is a high gain wireless N USB adapter with two external 3dBI antennas. This adapter may not be as small as a quarter, but it's still not much larger than a pack of gum which makes it easy to pack away and travel with too. Let's see how the TL-WN822N stacks for it's great price.

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Zalman CNPS7X LED CPU Cooler Review
HiTech Legion posted Zalman CNPS7X LED CPU Cooler Review

The Zalman CNPS7X LED may be short on size, but it certainly makes up for it in design and performance. The Zalman CNPS7X uses Zalman's V-Shaped fin design to maximize efficiency, allowing the CNPS7X to effectively do the work of much larger cooling solutions. The V-Shaped design directs more air directly through the fins at the heat pipe area with very little loss, creating significantly more air where it's needed for actual effective cooling. This means more air over the six copper composite heatpipes than would be expected from a 90mm fan solution. The 90mm blue LED fan included with the CNPS7X LED is PWM controlled with a maximum RPM of 1950, while still maintaining a whisper quiet 25dBA. This efficient design allows for the Zalman CNPS7X LED to stand a mere 135mm tall, with an equally small 90x127mm footprint. The CNPS7X is small enough for almost any case, and should almost never pose an issue of blocked RAM slots.

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Genius SP-HF2020 Hi-Fi Digital Wooden Speakers Review
ThinkComputers.org posted a review on the Genius SP-HF2020 Hi-Fi Digital Wooden Speakers

Okay, I’m not going to lie, when Bob asked me to review a set of Genius speakers I was quite skeptical. Let’s just be nice and say Genius doesn’t have the best reputation for producing/selling the best quality speakers. Hell, Genius isn’t that many letters away from ‘generic’ and the fact that Apple employees are also called ‘Genius’s’ (I HATE APPLE) gave these speakers a sour taste before I even saw the box. I did a bit of research on these speakers after seeing the un-boxing video a week or so ago on the ThinkComputers website and I was surprisingly impressed. The company’s website claims “Genius brings all serious listeners a new set of speakers, SP-HF2020, to experience magnificent sound.” Let’s see how accurate that statement is and if my first impression holds true.

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