All Components - Power Supplies

The OCZ Fatal1ty, once you get past the unconventional naming system, is a good value for the money. It has pretty good functionality built-in and pretty good ergonomics, but the one thing I love about the most is the outer design—it’s awesome! With the large fat atop the case and mess grille around the body, the red tint that it gives off is what sold me!

And before I get in trouble for talking all-style and no function, I digress! The Fatal1ty (I still have to discover why that 1 is there instead of the obvious “i”) OCZ550FTY is rated at 80% energy efficiency, which is pretty good—if not fairly normal—for this unit. 50 amps, also, is very generous for a PSU in this price range.

The cables are long-enough and tastefully braided (as is most of the whole package, from the box to the accessories—very sleek and stylish), the uglyness-factor of which has been a long time gripe for many of my fellow gamer friends, and included 6 SATA, 5 Molex, a 6 pin PCI express + a 6/2 pin conversion, the standard 20-24 pin ATX, the 8 and 4 pin and a 3.5 disc connector.

It’s extremely quiet, especially for one costing only roughly $70 and supports SLI/Crossfox as well—something that’s really becoming standard in the gaming/high-end computing world. The four rails keep the power consumption/efficiency in-check very well. The only issue I really have with it is the PCI express cables are a little on the short side and really should be longer; additionally, while 80% energy efficiency is still very good, many other comparable PSU’s have an 85% of slightly-better rating.
The OCZ Fatal1ty 550FTY is more than adequate for most gamers and mid-level computer builders. Just do not try to hook up it up to a 25 kilowatt generator and you are definitely covered!

The HannsG Hi-221DPB 22” widescreen LCD monitor is ideal for those who wish to make the most of their widescreen images and digital formats. Very easy to assemble by simply slotting the plastic support in to the unit base and attaching the power and relevant video cables you are ready to start your work. In spite of its large screen it weighs a comfortable 4.9kg and can be moved around when necessary. Simple in design yet stylish and chic in its own way in jet black with only the logo visible and the “blue energy star” which implies its complicity with the environment.

The picture quality seems satisfactory without being exceptionally bright which could have been due to the fact that there is only limited control over color contrast since pretty much everything seems to happen automatically. Great for gamers, multimedia users with its 160 (H)/160 (V) degree viewing angle for comfortably watching movies as well.

The HannsG Hi-221DPB 22-inch widescreen LCD monitor Active Matrix Hi-221DPB supports 1680 x 1050 WXGA+ resolutions. Enjoy true 1080p HD-quality video through the DVI port with HDCP ready functionality. The high 1,000:1 contrast ratio and 300 nits brightness produce remarkably bright and rich colors. The integrated digital speakers and VESA wall-mount compliance save desktop space.

Most buyers were very satisfied with this monitor calling it the best screen owned thus far. They were happy with the wide, beautiful picture, simple design and the sturdy base. Many people had not heard of Hanns and had been rather wary about buying an unknown brand while others say that Hanns G has really made a name for themselves with this particular monitor. One reviewer is of the opinion that this is the perfect monitor to handle all new graphics hardware you purchase and is sure that it can do a lot more. The only negative comment was that there was no DVI cable included. All in all most everyone was satisfied and went on to say that it was better than what they expected for that low price.

I recently purchased a Patriot Gamer Series kit. It’s the 4 gig DDR3 type that Patriot touts “works flawlessly with AMD Black series processors”. I don’t have an AMD processor, but I’ve got a Pentium i7 that’s designed for online gaming.

I ordered it back in late May and didn’t receive it until June 7, which aggravated me to no extent; but that really has no bearing on the performance and reliability of the RAM itself. I was actually pretty shocked at what I found out.

With the Patriot Gamer Series, I have frequently—over the last couple of weeks—attempted to overclock my Dell XPS system. It’ll sure get past the 1600Mhz standard, and with flying colors I may add. If you’d like to see the screenshot, just email me and I would be glad to show you.

The “enhanced” latency of 9-9-9-24 almost sounded too good to be true, especially considering my past experiences dealing with DDR2 (as well as the legacy DDR1). But, ALAS, it passed that test as well. I’m not saying it’ll always be that fast, but it’s a pretty good indicator that it’s on top of its game.

Henceforth, I feel compelled to review it to a couple of other RAM producers—Kingston and Mushkin (a couple of other highly-esteemed products, and of which Kingston I’ve actually used in the past). What I found out, in summary, is that I can’t say that the Patriot modules “far exceeded the other two”—but its definitely right-on par with the other two (with similar configurations).

When I finally got it, it arrived in tastefully-designed plastic covers—good for static electricity prevention (which will, subsequently, almost guarentee you don’t destroy a stick). Other than that, though, and the late delivery issue, it’s a well-rounded, awesome product.