Since it began in 2003, the 80 plus certification program has been widely adopted as the de facto standard whereby high end power supply units undergo rigorous testing to ensure they meet the standards set to ascertain an 80 plus certfication. It’s only in the last few years that we’ve seen the marketing buffs go to town with the 80 plus branding, but do the PSU’s actually perform as the claims may suggest?

Cooler Master have been producing power supplies for around 6 years now and have recently launched a range of 80 plus Gold power supplies, aptly named the “Silent Pro Gold Series.” A range of wattages from 600W to 1200W are available, but we’ll be taking a look at the 600W unit today.

To achieve an 80 plus gold certification the PSU must reach 87%, 90%, 87% efficiency levels at 20%, 50%, and 100% loads respectively, so these are also the loading levels we’ll be using to test the Silent Pro M Gold 600W, along with our Corsair HX 620W and Corsair HX 650W for the basis of comparison. Obviously these PSU’s aren’t rated for 80 plus gold, but a review without some form of comparison wouldn’t be of much interest.

Before I go any further I’d like to point out that if I hadn’t been invited to Cooler Master’s labs to use their PSU testing equipment today’s review wouldn’t have been possible. A big thumbs up to you all for trusting me not to break your expensive equipment!

So let’s take a look at what Cooler Master are offering with their Silent Pro Gold 600W in regards to Specification:

On the next page we take a closer look at the Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold.

Recently the trend has been to offer cases designed for gamers, which offer ease of access, great thermal performance and unfortunately in my opinion an ogresome appearance. Thankfully not all manufacturers have followed this trend and today we take a look at a case from one such company called Fractal Design. As a relative newcomer to the chassis arena Fractal Design may not be familiar to you, but that’s not going to last for long as their flagship chassis the Define R2 is already making waves in enthusiast circles.

Whilst the case is available at a number of UK retailers demand is higher than the current rate of supply so getting your hands on one is quite a difficult task as they sell out as soon as they come in stock. Currently Overclockers UK seem to have a steady stream of the cases in supply, so they should be your first port of call if you want to pick up one of these beauties.

So who are Fractal Design? Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

The concept – Design

The concept of Fractal Design is to provide products with an extraordinary design level, without compromising the important factors of quality, functionality and pricing. The computer of today has come to play a central role in most people’s home, creating a demand for appealing design of the computer itself and its accessories. Our main product areas are computer enclosures, power supplies, cooling, external storage and Media Center-products, such as Home Theatre-enclosures, keyboards and remote controls.

Designed and engineered in Sweden

All Fractal Design products have been thoroughly designed, tested and specified in our Swedish head quarter. The well known ideas of scandinavian design can be found through all of our products; a minimalistic but yet striking design – less is more.

Visions and goals

Our vision is to have a constant, healthy growth together with our partners worldwide. Our goal is to be widely recognized for our designed products and to have them available in all major market regions within EU and US. We should be a good alternative to the already established retail brands of today. It’s of great importance for us that our partners understand the values of Fractal Design, therefore we are putting great effort into choosing the right partners from the start. We will work actively to maintain sales territories and profitable business for our partners.

The way to reach our goals

In the competitive market of today, it’s not enough to just provide excellent products. Regular and well planned marketing activities in close cooperation with the channel and the available media, are keypoints to succeed. We are well experienced in marketing brands in the IT business, and we will use this to create efficient marketing tools to gain a bigger market share and good earning possibilities for our channel.

On the next page we take a look at the Define R2′s Specifications.

How many times have you purchased a fan only to find that it’s either much too loud, or the airflow is abysmal? More often than not I’d assume. With so many fans to choose from, ranging from cheap and cheerful to somewhat more expensive, trying to pick one that is right for you can become a tedious process. After all, these fans are going to be keeping your components cool, but you don’t want them keeping you awake at night.

Noctua spotted the need for fans that are quiet, not just on paper, but also during use, as well as delivering high levels of airflow, so set about creating the NF series. Established in 2005 Noctua quickly won the hearts of many silent PC enthusiasts with their award winning products, and now happily supply hundreds of sales partners in more than 30 countries across the globe. With this success under their belt they are continually striving to optimise and improve their products, which brings us to the subject of today’s review – the Noctua NF-S12B. Based upon the award winning impeller design first used in the NF-S12, the NF-S12B seeks to further improve on where the NF-S12 left off.

Specifications

Taken from Noctua’s Website:

With the Specifications out of the way, let’s move on to the Packaging and Contents over on the next page.

Which mouse to choose can often be a daunting task, especially considering the range of mice on the market, so whether it be for gaming or web browsing you want a mouse that offers comfort and reliability to allow you to focus on the task at hand.

Gamers are often prepared to spend obscene amounts of money on the best equipment available and mice are no exception. For many years they have searched for the best gaming mouse available and many mice have stepped up only to be quickly dethroned by a superior rodent.

Logitech has been a successful player in the computer peripheral market for many years. Their urge to deliver new and interesting products to consumers is nothing short of awe inspiring and I am intrigued as well as excited each time Logitech decide to release a new product, especially if it’s catered towards the gaming crowd.

Today I have not got a new product from Logitech, but one that has stood the test of time. Released back in 2007, the Logitech G9 remains one of the firm favourites for gamers and enthusiasts alike. The G9 has been voted the best overall gaming mouse on numerous occasions and today we will take a closer look at what makes this mouse so special.

Before I delve into the review let’s have a look at the specifications from the Logitech website.

Specifications

With the Specifications out of the way let’s move on to the mouse itself over on the next page.