Blast from the past: originally published April 5 2002.

After my rant on finding the right case size, I grabbed a few micro ATX cases to see what’s what. First up for review is the Enlight 7150.(editors note: product is now discontinued)
We had looked at the Enlight 7200 desktop case in the past, but this was the first foray into micro ATX. Basically it limits the motherboard size to 9.6” x 9.6” maximum, with four expansion slots and a specific layout for CPU and memory slots. Interestingly there is …

Blast from the past: originally published December 13th 2000.

When you think of getting yourself a new computer case, first thoughts go to a huge tower with twelve case fans or a sleek and sexy mini tower with that cool blue translucent cover.  Almost no one thinks of the desktop case: squat, square and oh so utilitarian.  Unfortunately they’re the workhorse of the office environment, as no one wants a mid tower under their desk at the office cubicle.
Recently I purchased a bunch of PCs …

Blast from the past: originally posted February 14th 2002.

Way back in 1991 I bought my first PC; a shiny Magnavox 386SX 20MHz. After a few months I began upgrading pieces of it, leading me to realize I needed a new system. I wanted to build it myself, so I did a ridiculous amount of research and decided on an AMD 386DX 40 MHz with 8 MB of RAM. My real concern was getting a good sized case to put everything in; I already had a 1x Sony …

Blast from the past: originally published October 6th 2000.
It’s a sad time when I can’t get in any game playing, but that’s what happened this week.  I’ve beaten most of my games in single player mode and look for the challenge of multiplayer mayhem, but none of my friends were available.  I know I could just log in and fight a stranger, but what’s the point of that? I want to team up with a friend and then crush strangers into dust.  Otherwise why play games …

Blast from the past: originally published January 16th 2006.

Let me start off by saying this is not a server case: it is a workstation case. As the review progresses items will be pointed out that affirms this, but it’s better to think of it as a workstation chassis and look at it from this perspective.
I was building a new test server and needed a decent chassis. Antec is always my first choice and they had just released the Titan 550 Server, their first designated tower server chassis. I’ve been using …

Blast from the past: originally posted December 14th 2000.
I was putting together a system for a friend and he needed a reliable mid tower case from a reputable manufacturer at a good price.  Isn’t that what we’re all looking for when building a computer?  I looked around at what was available and decided on the Aopen HX45A mid ATX tower case.  Let’s take a look at this rugged unit.
The HX45A is Aopen’s current mid tower offering.  I had purchased a few about three years …

Blast from the past: originally published April 14th 2004.

This is our third review of a chassis or case from the Antec Solution line. The Antec was the best mid tower case for the money we’ve ever seen, while the Antec was a slight compromise for less real estate. This time around Antec has taken the value oriented SLK3700AMB and added features from it’s best selling “quiet” Antec Sonata . It’s a good idea to read our review first to see what makes it so great. The Antec …

Blast from the past: originally published December 31st 2003.

After having repeated success with the Antec SLK3700AMB mid tower case, I had the opportunity to build a PC using its smaller sibling, the Antec SLK2600AMB. Someone had asked me to construct our $1000 PC, so I gathered the parts and went to work. This case is a meant as a smaller, cheaper version of the SLK3700AMB and as such some features are removed, while other small touches have been added. Read on.
Let’s look at the Antec SLK2600AMB from the …

Blast from the past: originally published October 16th 2000.

Great rejoicing rang throughout the house as my Antec case finally arrived.  As well I received a Linksys KVM ( keyboard, video, mouse ) switch to hook up in my office, but you’ll have to wait until next week for that review.
I discussed last week my impatience regarding the arrival of the Antec SX1030  tower SO/HO server case.  I said tower case because it straddles the line between mid and full tower size, but does the job of a small server case.  …

Originally published November 24th 2005.

I basically had all the parts at home to build a micro ATX system with an Athlon XP 3200; I just needed a case. This was a spare parts system, so the budget was next to nothing. Checking with my distributor netted me the Asus TM-231 Micro Tower for a whopping $43 Canadian.

I’m a big fan of Antec cases, having two series in use. I’ve been eyeing the new Performance Plus and Performance II series but found the price to be a little steep for my tastes. Recently I was perusing their site and found the Solution series, a low cost alternative. A quick Google search revealed no reviews, so I ordered the largest of the series, the SLK3700AMB. After a few weeks went by it arrived. Within minutes of opening the box I was thoroughly impressed.
I’ll do my usual case review of moving from the …

Being a fan of computer cases, especially Antec cases, last year when I was building a new system I came across an excellent price on an Antec Atlas 550. For reference I suggest reading my original review: for this piece I’ll cover the differences between the two. This was a new model, the second in the Antec server line, a reworking of the Antec Titan that I had enjoyed so much. At the time the Atlas had the same 550 watt power supply (the Titan now comes with a 650 …

Small businesses and higher end home users can ( should? ) embrace rack mount equipment. Why? For one thing it forces you to set up a rack and add equipment in a central location with proper power, cabling and organization. Is it obvious I come from a corporate computing background yet? The real inhibitor has been corporate prices for this kind of thing, i.e. way too much money for the small business and certainly for the home user. Let’s take a look at an introductory …