Corsair is renowned for the whole galaxy of products designed for contemporary PC platforms. Its PSUs, memory modules, SSDs, cooling solutions, peripherals, and cases are widely incorporated in desktop and mobile segments. The latter count a list of series, targeted various customers with various needs. The most peculiar one is Carbide series that currently consists of eight models. Carbide Air 540 differs from its comrades, in the first place, by its cubic framework and, in the second place, by its mini-tower height but midi-tower internal spacing. Those are not the only attractions of the model, since Corsair always offers more than it’s seen on the surface.



Design and Ergonomics


Corsair Carbide Air 540 features 458x322x419 mm dimensions and is distinguished by a rather strict design. Exterior and interior facets are totally painted black, except for ‘Corsair’ label and sockets with inscriptions. The case is made of thin steel but for the external plastic panels …

GeIL, which is known for its high-end memory modules, drives, and other PC components, is going to release a new SSD series, codenamed Zenith S3. The series will embrace three models of 60GB, 120GB and 240GB capacity. All of them will be developed in 2.5-inch form-factor and will employ SATA III 6Gb/sec interface. The differentiation between the models is seen not only in their capacities but also in their speed performance, the index of which will be uncovered below.



Zenith S3 line is based on MLC NAND flash-chips designed under 25 nm technological process. As for the speed characteristics, all models in the series prove to demonstrate the maximal performance on random Write operations (4KB) – up to 70000 IOPS. When touching upon sequential speeds, each model shows different indeces:

— GZ25S2L-60G: maximal sequential Read speed – 500MB/sec, maximal sequential Write speed – 480MB/sec (recommended price — $70);

— GZ25S3L-120G: maximal sequential Read speed – …

Zalman is considered to be a key player in PC hardware field mainly due to a perfect combination of quality, functionality and price tags. CPU coolers are not an exception, since they ensure efficient and low-noise cooling of hard-hitting processors. The company’s latest CNPS8X Optima cooler is all about innovation that turns it around. Improved framework makes the model compatible with practically all platforms from Intel and AMD, save for Intel Socket LGA 2011/2011-v3/1366.



Zalman CNPS8x Optima employs a large heatsink, three copper heatpipes, and a single 92 mm fan. The latter is based on long-life bearing and features 4-contact connector. It is able to rotate at about 1200 RPM, producing not more than 30 dB noise.


The list of innovative technologies integrated into the cooler includes:


— Direct Touch Heatpipe (DTH) technology wherein all three heatpipes are in direct touch with a heatspreader. This accelerates heat dissipation process, enhancing overall …