Hardware Reviews

Here you’ll see tests and overclocking suitability of the following hardware components …

Cooler Master V700 PSU Review

The Cooler Master V700 is a fully modular power supply and enables an optimal adjustment of all internal PC cables. The 80PLUS Gold power supply and the connecting cables are supplied each in a bag to have all necessary cables ready to hand for the next PC upgrade. The first impression of the new 700 watt power supply is already excellent. In the following review, we look at the modular Cooler Master V700 high-end PSU and compare the results with … Continue reading Cooler Master V700 PSU Review

Cooler Master G500 PSU Review

Cooler Master offers with the Cooler Master G500 PSU a new 80PLUS bronze power supply in the lower price segment. At OCinside.de, we already tested some Cooler Master power supplies and can thus make a good comparison to some high-end and low-budget PC power supplies. Let us take a look at the inexpensive non-modular Cooler Master G500 power supply, that will convince with no frills but with a good energy efficiency at a reasonable price. Thanks for the support … … Continue reading Cooler Master G500 PSU Review

Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Review

The Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 PC case does not only caught the eye by its special simplicity, but due to the large mesh surfaces on the top and the front, which have an extremely high airflow and thanks to the integrated dust filters they can be cleaned very easily as well. Fractal Design delivers the Arc R2 mid-tower PC case with an acrylic window, USB 3.0 ports, three silent 140 mm R2 fans with 3-step fan control and the … Continue reading Fractal Design Arc Midi R2 Review

ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

Today we test the new ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Intel LGA 1150 motherboard at OCinside.de. It is based on the Intel Z87 chipset and offers a high-quality solution for current 1150-pin Haswell processors like the Intel Core i7-4770K, Intel Core i5-4570 or the Intel Core i5-4670K, which we have used to test and overclock this motherboard. Surely only a few motherboards can compete with the recently tested ASRock Z87M OC Formula when overclocking, but the basic equipment of the ASRock Extreme … Continue reading ASRock Z87 Extreme4 Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

ASRock Z87M OC Formula Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

Awesome This is how we could describe the brand-new ASRock Z87M OC Formula motherboard for Intel Haswell CPUs in the shortest mainboard review with just one word. We were also amazed about the plenty of features which can be integrated in such a small micro-ATX 8-layer PCB Z87 motherboard layout. ASRock offers especially very powerful options for overclockers with this LGA1150 motherboard. Overclock enthusiasts will have tears of joy in their eyes when looking in the UEFI Setup, so it … Continue reading ASRock Z87M OC Formula Intel LGA1150 Motherboard Review

ASRock FM2A85X-ITX AMD Socket FM2 ITX Motherboard Review

Today we test a tiny AMD Trinity Socket FM2 motherboard on OCinside.de, which is ideal to build a fast HTPC or even a small gaming PC with its Mini-ITX form factor and AMD A85X chipset. Just 17x17cm in size, the ITX motherboard offers many amazing features of the recently tested ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 ATX mainboard, which received our OverClocking Dream award. The ASRock FM2A85X-ITX motherboard has one PCI Express slot, seven SATA3 ports, one eSATA3 port, Gigabit LAN, 7.1 sound … Continue reading ASRock FM2A85X-ITX AMD Socket FM2 ITX Motherboard Review

Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB SSD RAID Review

We recently reviewed one of the fast Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256 GB SSD, but we wanted it faster again. Said and done, because today we test two of these fast Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256 GB SSDs. We build a hardware RAID0 striping with two of these SSDs and compare their performance with a software RAID 0, with one single Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256 GB SSD and with two Crucial m4 SSDs in RAID 0. Let us continue … Continue reading Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB SSD RAID Review

Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB SSD Review

Today we have a Xtreme fast SSD for review at ocinside.de, the Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB. The Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256 GB SSD is based on the Marvell 88SS9187-BLD2 controller like the previously tested Crucial M500 480 GB SSD and reached an amazing high performance with the new Plextor firmware 1.03. So let us continue with the SSD comparison and the review of the Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256 GB. Thanks for the support … Many thanks for … Continue reading Plextor M5 Pro Xtreme 256GB SSD Review

Crucial M500 480GB SSD Review

Since this week the new M500 SSD from Crucial is available is in the stores and this SSD has not only an enormously high performance, but now also offers a capacity close to the 1TB at a price where some other fast SSD starts with the half size. Today we have the smaller Crucial M500 480 GB SSD CT480M500SSD1 with integrated 256-bit AES encryption tested and extensively benchmarked. Crucial declares both the M500 480 GB SSD and the Crucial M500 … Continue reading Crucial M500 480GB SSD Review

ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M AMD Socket FM2 Micro-ATX Motherboard Review

The AMD Socket FM2 platform has an excellent price/performance ratio and is especially very interesting for those who like to build a less expensive PC. ASRock top this with this AMD Trinity motherboard and offers for less than 60 EUR a micro-ATX motherboard with three PCI Express slots, one PCI slot, five SATA3 ports, one eSATA3 port, Gigabit LAN, 7.1 sound with optical output, USB3.0, USB2.0 and in addition to the optional COM port even an optional LPT port, which … Continue reading ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M AMD Socket FM2 Micro-ATX Motherboard Review

Seagate Constellation.2 ST91000640NS 1TB HDD Review

SSDs are currently the first choice for a high performance at very small dimensions. The SSD prices are getting lower, so that now even 256 GB or 512 GB are getting affordable. But those who would like to equip their notebooks with a bigger drive like e.g. 1 TB, will probably buy a conventional hard drive. And even for desktop PCs or servers a 2.5-inch hard drive can make sense, which Seagate is showing us with their fast Seagate Constellation.2 … Continue reading Seagate Constellation.2 ST91000640NS 1TB HDD Review

Xigmatek Gigas Review

The Xigmatek Gigas PC case does not look like a standard Midi-Tower, but rather like a subwoofer in a high-quality aluminium chassis. So the enthusiast can decide to use the Xigmatek Gigas case cube made of brushed aluminium as HTPC in the living room or as stylish gaming PC. Because the case is not only very attractive, but provides also great cooling for high-end PC hardware. We examined the Xigmatek Gigas enclosure and test the practicality on the following 5 … Continue reading Xigmatek Gigas Review

HP TouchSmart 520 All-In-One Touchscreen PC Review

Touchscreen systems are fully in line with the trend – as Smartphone, Tablet PC or as complete All-In-one PC with touch and multitouchscreen panel, which OCinside.de is testing now after several HTPC and media player reviews. Today we have a review of the Hewlett-Packard TouchSmart 520 All-In-one PC with 23-inch touch display, integrated webcam, sound system and many other features that will make the PC life easier for the user. Let us test, how well the touch panel is working … Continue reading HP TouchSmart 520 All-In-One Touchscreen PC Review

Cooler Master Eisberg Prestige 240L Review

We have already tested some liquid coolers and some pre-filled PC water cooling devices at ocinside.de and today it is time to publish the new Cooler Master Eisberg Prestige 240L review. A few months ago we had already the pleasure to take a look at the first preview versions of it and today is the official launch of the new improved Cooler Master Iceberg 240 version. The Cooler Master Eisberg 240L AIO water cooler is based on a copper dual … Continue reading Cooler Master Eisberg Prestige 240L Review

ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 AMD Socket FM2 Motherboard Review

Today we are testing a new Socket FM2 Trinity motherboard on OCinside.de, which reached a new reference clock record during our OverClocking tests. The AMD FM2 motherboard is based on the AMD A85X chipset and has a total of five PCI Express slots, two PCI slots, seven SATA3 ports, one eSATA3 port, Gigabit LAN and 7.1 audio with optical output. We tested the ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 Socket FM2 motherboard with an AMD A10-5800K Black Edition APU and overclocked it to … Continue reading ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 AMD Socket FM2 Motherboard Review