Tech Link (Chassis): Aerocool Zero Degree ATX Computer Case

LegitReviews reviews a chassis, case, or PC enclosure or whatever you call it, from Aerocool*. The author is impressed, and can hardly find any Cons. But hey, if you ask me, subjectively speaking, the cons is that it looks ugly to me. Anyway, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so that's just me. Check it out if you have some free time to kill..

Final Thoughs and Conclusions


The Aerocool Zero Degree case has a nice clean outside appearance and a functional inside design that will easily accommodate water cooling setups if one should choose to go that route in the future. The 0.8mm SECC steel that is used for the Zero Degree was found to be strong and leaves you with a heavy solid case when installation is complete.

When it comes to pricing the Aerocool Zero Degree can be found for $114.99, but right now Newegg has a $20 rebate on it. This brings down the price to $94.99 after the $20.00 Mail-In Rebate, which still makes it an expensive case as it doesn't come with a power supply. There is tough competition in this price range as the Antec Nine Hundred that we just reviewed can be found for less and is also a great gaming case.

The cons on the case are pretty far and few to be honest. It would be nice to see it ship with more hard drive mounting adapters and screws, but not too many people need to run more than four hard drives. The thickness of the 250mm case fan might not work well with some case fans. We tried to install the OCZ Vindicator in the case and couldn't close the door due to the height of the cooler and the thickness of the door.

If you're looking for a tool-less 'Flexi Tower' case with an upside-down ATX configuration and a side window that will make others stop and take a second look, then the Aerocool Zero Degree is well worth a look.

The Legit Bottom Line: The Aerocool Zero Degree is a very well built case that any gamer should be proud to own. The upside-down ATX configuration is something different and worth checking out!

Source:Aerocool Zero Degree ATX Computer Case

Tech Link (Motherboard): eVGA 680i LT SLI Motherboard Review

This new motherboard is the newest member of nVidia's reference board geared for the enthusiast. While I prefer Intel-branded chipset-based motherboard, when it comes to native SLI, it's the only choice for now. LegitReviews pit the board to several benchmarks and the author came out with good conclusion. Check this one out...

Final Thoughts and Conclusions
The nForce 680i LT SLI motherboard brings the performance of the 680i SLI motherboard to a lower price point by removing a few components and limiting some of the features that are found in the BIOS. While many of the luxury features that are used on the 680i SLI have been removed, we found that the performance and level of overclocking between the two boards to be too close to tell a a difference.

There really isn't too much more to say about the nForce 680i LT SLI as there isn't really anything new about the product itself! NVIDIA wanted a part that would fill the void between the 680i and 650i and the 680i LT SLI does just that with a reasonable price-tag for the performance level that is offers. At $199 this board will peak the interest of many gamers that want to have a board that supports SLI Technology!

The only gripe that I have with the 680i LT SLI is the active cooling that is used on both the SPP and MCP, which seems inadequate from our testing. When overclocking I used my infrared digital laser pyrometer to find out the surface temperature of the SPP and was shocked with the findings. Under load when the SPP heat sink was found to be 55-60C, which is too hot for my tastes.

At first it looked like NVIDIA was going to neuter a perfectly good board, but it seems that the Testosterone is still present and this 680i LT SLI is by no means a dog!

Legit Bottom Line: The NVIDIA nForce 680i LT SLI motherboard brings the performance of the 680i series down to ~$199 without taking away significantly from the level of performance and overclocking one would expect from these boards

Source:eVGA 680i LT SLI Motherboard Review

Tech Link (RAM): CellShock DDR2 1000 2GB Memory Kit

LegitReviews has a pretty RAM on their test bench. It doesn't have flashy LEDs or crazy design for its heatspreader, but the style is just sexy. If you are craving for some RAM review, check this out and see if it suits your taste.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts
This Cell Shock DDR2 1000 2GB kit was a great memory kit to be introduced to. The memory modules that I was able to use were found to be of high quality and featured a unique design to the heat spreader. More specifically, it uses the ever popular Micron D9GKX memory IC's, is built on an 8 layer PCB and it has a classy, yet well built heatspreader. It performed very well, in fact, very comparable to our Corsair ram that we tested against, so it is certainly able to hang with the big names here in the United States.

Overclocking results were actually pretty good, and gave a good boost in performance. With the option to link or unlink ram these days on the newer motherboard chipsets, it means that tweaking is nearly endless when using a pair of modules like these! This makes it fun for the most detailed of enthusiast, and this Cell Shock plays nice at various timings and voltages.

I was only able to find this memory at one online store in the US, at Tankguys.com. They have it priced at $419.00, which seems like a pretty penny, but numerous other brands are asking this much, if not more, for comparable memory kits these days. The one thing that concerns me the most with the price tag on this memory kits is that it ONLY comes with a 5-year warranty. In an industry where everyone else has lifetime warranties on their modules this is an interesting move. For a ~$400 memory kit one would expect that it would have a lifetime warranty, but this one does not.

The Legit Bottom Line:
This Cell Shock DDR2 1000 2GB kit is certainly worthy of your time and attention if you are in the market for ram. It performs great, overclocks decent. The only drawback may be the warranty and price for a relative unknown in the US market... the sticker price might just give you "Cell Shock," but remember, you get what you pay for!

Source:CellShock DDR2 1000 2GB Memory Kit